Firebug
by CherryMountain
Summary: Sequel to "The Newbie." CJ Stahl struggles to be the hero she was meant to be. She was doing a great job, until a shocking surprise awaits her on the WatchTower. With all the stress she now faces, a romance is thrown in, and she can't imagine her life getting any worse. Until it does.
1. Fight or Flight

**Welcome guys! CJ Stahl is back, and now, she has a hero name: Firebug! I'm not going to explain the first book, so if you have no idea as to what's going on here, go read the first book: The Newbie. I, and many others, think CJ and her adventure as a member of the Justice League is amazing. I know not many people like OC's, but would think a lot of people would be interested in this if they read all the way through.**

**I had so much fun with CJ, I just couldn't **_**NOT**_** write more about her. Honestly, I had finished book one and was already writing book two before I even published chapter 11 of book one. Like I did in The Newbie, I will be posting chapters every few days, as I am already well into the story and don't want to publish it all at once. Not all chapters are worth the wait, and Chapter 1 is definitely better than the next, so be grateful that I gave you 4,000 words in 1 instead of 1,500 like I originally had. It was originally just going to be her boring day on the Watchtower, but I changed it to be more her and Ted. I wanted all the followers of book one and any newcomers to really want to continue reading CJ's story, and I hope you guys find her story to be remarkable.**

**My twin asked me to add this in, so I'm asking anyone that is reading this if they would like to make a cover image for this story, and maybe even the first book, if you want. I'd rather have it look more like a cartoon than real, if possible, and don't really care what it's of, as long it has CJ or fire or something. If anyone's willing, message me. I know that there are so many artists out there that love to do this. I'd love to have an original cover photo, and would be much appreciated! I'll keep the heart until I receive your piece. If you want, I'll add in a suggested character of yours as payment, or something. I don't have money, though. I'll repay you somehow, because an original cover would be amazing! You can send the picture to cherryxmountain gmail. Thank you!**

**And, a heads up, the few chapters of the second book is going to be about CJ trying to figure out her feelings towards Ted, then some action, then them again. I know I'm really forcing the relationship, and there isn't really much of them bonding, but we'll dwell on that later in the book. These are more like hints. She has never loved before, and so doesn't understand her emotions. I'm not good at romance, and so it took me forever to write this, with the help of my twin, OnyxRing, who will co-write a few chapters. I hope it's good!**

**Chapter 1**

**Firebug**  
Real Name: Cynthia Jane Stahl  
League ID: K-T-012  
Place of Origin: Alternate Earth H-23-0001.  
Powers: Create and manipulate fire/heat, absorption of fire/heat, can project the fire from her body, can fly while on fire, and impervious to all forms of fire.  
Mission Logs: N/A  
Personal Notes: N/A

CJ had been staring at her profile for hours. _Her profile_. She was a member of the Justice League. It was still hard to believe, even after she had read it about a hundred times.

She had read through all the other members' profiles. She found out real names, though she didn't really acknowledge them, respecting their privacy. Only about half the members didn't care if the others knew of their civilian identities, and CJ was one of them. She trusted that they wouldn't tell the world who she really was. They all needed privacy and a place to relax. She discovered powers and abilities, and tried to memorize faces, to superhero names and their general names.

As she sat at the computer, a hero walked by, and CJ looked up. She saw a man in trench coat, his face hidden by a large brimmed hat. CJ almost growled out in anger. She didn't know who it was, partly because his face was hidden, and partly because she hadn't memorized _everyone_.

She was at a computer in the lounge area, and hardly anyone used the place. It was rare for someone to walk by, and every time someone did, she tried to guess who it was, without the help of the computer. She saw Booster Gold earlier, distinguishable because of the gold mask over his eyes, walking with Blue Beetle, who was also distinguishable by his shiny blue armor. Booster Gold was from the future, and Blue Beetle was a genius inventor. CJ remembered that much from reading the profiles.

She looked back down to her own profile. She didn't have any mission logs, mostly because she didn't know what they were, and partly because she hadn't been on an official mission. There was a fire she put out last week, but she got there when half the building was already burnt to crisps, having saw it on the news.

The people of Genocian City already knew CJ as Firebug, because she had saved that woman and boy from drowning when there was that car accident on the bridge. That was the first time she had flew, and it was only for a moment, but that was when people watching the news had seen that she could control fire. So at the fire, when she had put it out, the reporters swarmed her.

Having nothing better to do, she surfed the internet. She ended up looking at _Genocian Gazette_. She found the normal druggies caught, deadly divorces, adoptions gone wrong, murders unsolved. Then there were a few articles on Firebug.

CJ thought that they'd most likely be about the bridge incident, the attack at New York with the portals, or her firefighter moment. They were, in a sense, about these events, but one in particular was written now in the news, but was from a link that lead back to a blogging sight, whatever a blog was, written by someone calling themselves CherryMountain.

_Firebug: Hero, or Hazard?_

_The new hero Firebug came out of nowhere. Literally._

_One second, the Stahnton Bridge was full of only panicked people and damaged cars, and the next, Firebug was there to save the day._

_She immediately ran towards a car that was teetering on the edge, about to fall to the river. The hero tried desperately to get the people inside to safety. Still, the car fell, before the hero could get anyone out._

_This hero, like the members of the Justice League, let's say, didn't just stand by and watch the car fall through the air. She jumped from the safety of the bridge towards the sinking car, and just before impact, caught fire. One can only assume that is where she got the name. She saved the survivors, Jenna Carver and her son Jacob, from drowning in river._

_Later in the week, she was seen flying around New York City, lighting up the sky like a firebug. It was unclear then if she was a member of the Justice League, saying in an interview, "No, I'm not. I'm simply here to help." A unanimous source tells us that it is official; she is a member of the League, and is here to stay._

_We didn't get a good look at her face on the bridge, or as she flew around The Big City, but we did see it when she was in front of the camera in that interview. Facial recognition cannot identify her, but shockingly, matches her to an incident when the so-called hero blew up a car. The Justice League arrived quickly, but not in time. Phil Carlson, age twenty-nine, died instantly from third degree burns._

_Interviews of residents of Genocian City, after hearing this news, asked,"I thought She was a hero?," and "Why would she do that?" Well, the answer is, no one knows._

_Who if Firebug, and is she a true hero? Where did she come from, and how long has the League known about this?_

CJ grew sad at this. This blogger person knew nothing about her, and the blog barely gave any insight onto how CJ could be a hazard. Yeah, she had killed Mr. Carlson on accident, and it was just that: an accident. Did this person hate CJ for some unknown reason, and want to make her feel bad by posting this passage? If that was so, they did a good job. CJ was already upset; she didn't need more people to bring up her worst memory.

She was curious as to how her face was recognized as her own. Batman had given her a new identity, but her name was on her license, which was her civilian alias, and on her profile in the Justice League. Had Batman made some program that messed up with the facial recognition software's so that they couldn't identify League Members? If so, Batman was really smart and really nice. CJ didn't need people coming to apartment and asking her about her first moments in this world.

CJ put the blog behind, knowing that she would be happier if she forgot about it. She began to grow bored again, and was about to go through the members' profiles again when she got a call on her comm. She only wore it when she was on the Watchtower. Now that she was a League member, she had expected to be asked to come on missions, but the world seemed quiet. She had been sitting in the lounge, waiting for Red Tornado to call her. She was about to be taught monitor duty.

"Red Tornado to Firebug." She grinned at the use of her hero name, and responded immediately. "Go ahead, Tornado."

"I am ready for you at the monitors."

"On my way."

She stood with a sigh of relief, and closed down the computer she had been using. She headed out towards the monitors. Finally, she would be contributing to the League somehow. She had asked days ago how she could help, and finally Superman responded, asking if she'd be willing to do monitor duty.

Finally, she was doing just that.

* * *

Monitor duty was fun for about an hour.

There was a program in the computer that made screens display anything that should be brought up to the League's attention, so literally, monitor duty consisted of sitting in the large swivel chair and watch the screens. A beep would sound if the computer found anything.

In the first five minutes, CJ's gaze flickered from screen to screen, searching. Ten minutes in, she was still searching, but had leaned back in the chair. Twenty minutes in, she stared at one, and watched it switch from city, to city, to city. Thirty minutes in, she was trying to guess which city was on the screen for the few seconds. This was tricky, because there were many that were new to her, not the same as in the world she grew up in. Forty minutes in, she was still guessing the cities, getting most of them wrong because of the weird angles. Fifty minutes, she was sighing loudly and staring out at Earth. An hour, she was spinning in the chair idly, ears straining to hear the beep.

The people of Earth didn't seem to need any help today.

She sat in that chair for three hours before Flash came to relieve her.

"First day on the monitors?" He asked, suddenly appearing next to her, having had sped into the room at the speed of light.

CJ jumped from the chair, finally happy to leave. She widened her eyes in boredom. "Yes. And thank you."

He shrugged with a lopsided grin. "You get used to it. We all have."

"I'm glad I got to help, seriously," CJ said as she walked away. She was glad to leave. "Next time warn me. I'll bring snacks."

"Always what I've done," Flash yelled to her as she walked through the doors, and she could imagine him still grinning. She was sure most League members left in a hurry like this, and that Flash wouldn't get offended. He hadn't _sounded_ offended. He had almost sounded sympathetic.

CJ immediately headed to the cafeteria, where she encountered the rush hour, as she called it. This is where most of the League members gathered if they were all in one place. They weren't necessarily here to talk and be friendly, but because there was free food. It was why CJ always went. And it was good food. There were no cheap, rip off products, fake generic brands, or microwaveable packages (unless someone absolutely wanted a microwaveable package, then one was provided).

She ate a lot, to make up for her miserable time at the Watchtower that day. She had spent half of it staring at the profiles on a computer, and the other half at world views on a computer. She just wanted to fill her belly, then go home and sleep. She could have rented out a room at the Watchtower, but she really wanted her own comfy bed to sleep on. And Ted's amazing homemade hot cocoa.

* * *

Turns out, Ted wasn't at the apartment they shared, which made CJ's day even worse. It was 9:23 pm, and CJ didn't know where he was. He would have been up, working in his study. CJ had a cell phone, but rarely ever used it. She pulled it from her pocket, and frowned at the one unread message she had, waiting for her to read. She hadn't even felt it vibrate.

_Taking the day off. Need a break from my research. Haven't gotten anywhere in weeks. Be home soon. -TD_

TD. Theodore Daniel. It was a thing he did, and CJ found it amusing and charming, though she would never admit it out loud to him. The message had been sent at 5:48 pm. She and him had different definitions of _soon_.

The message was definitely from him, because of the TD at the end, and because he _hadn't_ gotten anywhere in his research. Over their many talks in his study, Ted had complained to her multiple times that nothing was working. She had tried to help, and he got very upset, declaring that he had needed a distraction. CJ didn't know how to help with that. She knew that the distraction he was looking for wasn't a night out bowling, or going shopping. She didn't really know how to help, because he wouldn't say what, and it _bugged_ CJ.

She hated seeing him almost through all the papers off his desk, or holding his forehead like he had a major headache, or pacing around the living room. Seeing him like that had activated hidden emotions inside her. Guilt, regret, depression, envy. She wasn't jealous of him, but she was jealous that other people would have been better at helping him in the situation.

It was part of the reason why she had been at the Watchtower all day. She hadn't wanted to see him like that anymore, and didn't want to stand around, helpless, while he struggled. She was glad that he was finally getting out of the house.

That is, until she got another text message from him at 9:56. She had been just about to go to bed, hoping that Wallace would return home safely, when her cell phone buzzed from her bed side table.

She opened the message, but frowned in confusion.

**In think I gfiguTRed it ougt. Wshdere ARR yoku/**

It took CJ at least five long minutes to try and decipher the message. _I think I figured it out. Where are you? _She hit the call button. Had he got stung by a bee and his thumbs got swollen? Figured what out? Was he texting the right person? They hadn't had a real conversation since the day before then, around noon.

Ted picked up almost immediately. "Hey!" He shouted, and his voice, with the very loud rock music in the background, made CJ cringe and pull the phone away from her ear for a moment.

"Ted? What's going on?"

"What?" He yelled, but he must have been taking to someone on his line. "CJ! Can you come pick me up?"

"Pick you up? What do you mean?"

"You know! With your car?"

CJ slumped in disappointment. Was he trying to make a joke? "What are you talking about? I don't own a car."

"Really?" he asked, his voice quieting only for a moment. Then he burst out laughing. "Wow. Right, right. I can't believe I forgot that you can _fly_." He chuckled some more.

"Where are you?" She asked, standing from her bed, slipping into her fireproof clothing. She wasn't worried that he had just mentioned that she could fly, anyone around him that might have heard would probably just think he's crazy, which is good, because her identity was safe.

"Uhhhh," he drew out, then shouted again. "Oh! Right! Benny's! I'm with the guys!"

CJ didn't know who the guys were, but she knew what Benny's was. She had went there her first few nights at Ted's, to get some dinners for her and Wallace, and to grab a beer or two, upset when she couldn't find a job right away. It was only down the street. "You're at a bar? Wait, are you drunk?" She can't believe she hadn't heard it before. The yelling, the odd chuckling, him thinking she owned a car. Now that she knew, she actually heard the slur in his voice. So his solution to his struggle at his work was to get drunk. How was that supposed to help him?

"What? Trunks? Why are we talking about swimming?"

She shook her head. "Don't go anywhere. I'm coming to get you." Before he could say anything else, she hung up on him and opened her window. She had obtained fingerless gloves, also fire proof, and also had added a few chains to one pair of fireproof pants, to kind of blend in more as a civilian if she ever went out not intending to be Firebug. This was one of those situations. With the chains, and her hair up in a sloppy bun with dark eyeliner, and if she rolled her jacket sleeves up to reveal the gloves, she looked like a street punk or a goth. She dropped her phone on her bed, because it couldn't withstand her fire, and then stepped out onto the fire escape. She didn't care if her neighbors saw her fall towards the street and caught fire. She was too worried about Ted to care.

She arrived at Benny's within a minute, and once she came around the alley to head into the front entrance, she was surprised to see Ted out front with two very large biker-looking dudes.

"Thanks, guys," Ted was saying, patting the two men on their arms real quick in a dismissal. CJ thought maybe they were going to attack him for touching them, but they both grinned. The one on the left slapped him back, almost making him fall over. The biker caught and up righted him with a chuckle. "Anytime, Teddy. See you next time, alright?"

Ted grinned and blinked hazily. "Yeah." He was in his usual button up light blue dress shirt, black slacks, and polished black shoes, but drunk, he looked gruffy and just, oblivious. His shirt was rumpled and untucked, the first two buttons undone, revealing a small piece of his chest, the sleeves rolled up but done sloppily, and his hair ruffled on one side and flattened on the other, like he had teased all his hair and slept only on one side of his head. He also had bags under his eyes and was smiling like he was on drugs. CJ hoped not.

"Ted?" CJ asked as she approached, glancing at the bikers as she did. She didn't know if they were actually friends of Ted's or if they were just laying with him. All three looked up at her, and CJ didn't know if her outfit helped her in this situation. The two bikers tensed up, but Ted waved them away. "It's CJ." These had to be the "guys?"

The two seemed to understand, and walked away, saying goodbye to Ted again.

Ted lifted his hand with a "Hey," to wave at her, but the motion made him unbalanced, and he began to tip towards his raised arm. CJ ran and caught him just in time, but she stumbled under his limp weight. "_Theodore_," she gasped, surprised that he had let himself fall into her. He was _heavy_, for a not-too-buff guy.

He chuckled, not putting any effort to hold himself up. CJ almost fell herself, trying to keep him upright. She got a whiff of his breath and cringed; he had definitely not been drinking beer. Maybe whiskey or scotch.

She slipped his arm around his shoulder and tried to help him stand again. "Okay, let's walk."

He only barely acknowledged what she said, and CJ had to do most of the work. She was practically dragging him. Their apartment was only a few minutes' walk down the road, but at this rate, it would take ten to fifteen. And they had to go up _six_ flights of stairs. The trip was going to be long.

"Are you wearing makeup?" Ted asked her once they began walking, his voice filed with disbelief and amusement. "Trying to look pretty for me?" He asked sarcastically, then laughed. "Ha. Pop."

She ignored him, determined to get him home before he passed out.

"You never wear makeup," he stated. It was true.

"Shut up." She didn't want to tell him that she only did it to blend in. She didn't want to tell him anything right now. He was no doubt drunk, and wouldn't remember any of this the next morning.

He chuckled again, and he turned his head towards her. She cringed away from his breath, and the closeness of his face to hers. He voice lowered, and his tone grew serious and sensual. He pretty much purred it. "I like it when you call me Theodore."

She almost tripped over her own feet in shock, but managed to keep both of them upright. She usually only called him that when she was angry with him, but a play angry. She did it to make him upset, so that he would stop getting _her_ upset.

His voice when he had said that was completely unexpected. She grew hot all over, and wanted to drop him then and there and run. She didn't really know what it meant. Obviously, he liked it when she called him by his full name, but his words meant something else as well. CJ didn't want to think about it, but as she tried to ignore him smelling her hair and what he had said, the feeling still consumed her. She was so confused and troubled at that moment, she felt like exploding like a super nova just to destroy something, but definitely didn't want to hurt Ted.

"CccccccJjjjjjj," Ted whispered, drawing it out in a singsong tone.

She tried to ignore him, turning a corner and passing people who glanced at them oddly, but he kept doing it until she answered him. "What?"

"You smell good."

She groaned inwardly. She knew that he had been sniffing her hair, but she didn't want him to _acknowledge_ it.

She breathed out a rugged sigh from her nose. She tried to make him take it back, or get off the topic. "I smell like smoke."

He smiled, and with the arm that wasn't around CJ, he tried to reach up- to do what, CJ didn't want to think about- but he was too drunk, and ended up hitting her in the side. "Not smoke. Fire. You are fire. You smell like fire. I like you. Therefore, I like your smell."

CJ cringed again. He meant it as if they were friends. He liked her as a friend. Even telling herself this, it still made her arms shake nervously and burn, the blood rushing to her skin. With the nervousness also came a small change in temperature, but nothing to make anyone near her uncomfortable.

CJ hated having to endure this. When she was around Ted, she felt completely comfortable and safe. She felt like they understood each other, and didn't step over marked boundaries. When he said certain things, that implied that he was saying she was a good friend, or that she was a good person, CJ felt the stir of emotions. She partly knew what they were, but they brought so much confusion, she didn't understand what it meant half the time.

With Ted saying this stuff, CJ felt the confusion once again. She cared about him, more than anyone else in the world, she realized, but she didn't know why. What were these feelings that she felt, and what were his that caused him to say these things?

She really wished he would shut up, so life could be so much easier.

But no, he had to keep telling her things. "I had a dream about you once. Actually, I have a lot about you, but this one was different."

CJ almost dropped him again, and tried to block him out. She begged inwardly for him to stop, but knew he wouldn't unless he had duct tape or something covering his mouth.

"You were there. On fire. Beautiful and deadly. You were standing over someone, protecting them. You looked like you would have killed anyone to save that person on the ground." He paused. "Do you smell bubbles?"

She didn't think she heard most of what he said, because his words were becoming more drawn out slurs, but she caught the last piece. She didn't think bubbles smelled. She looked up at him to see if he was serious and noticed that his eyelids were growing heavy. "No, no. Stay awake, Ted."

He perked up a little, and frowned. "You called me Ted."

"I did."

"I like Theodore better." He shrugged. "From _you_, anyways."

She groaned. Luckily, they were finally outside their apartment building. "Here we go," she told him. "There are some steps here. Can you walk up them?"

He looked down at the step by his foot, and slowly lifted his foot onto it. He chuckled again as he did, but when he tried to lift his other foot, he almost fell backward.

After some struggle, CJ ended up mostly behind him, pushing him up the stairs and making sure that he didn't tilt backward, but pulled him from falling forward, all at the same time. After a long two minutes, they made it to the top of the eleven steps, and inside to the first floor.

There was a love seat- CJ groaned at the name of it- on the first floor, and CJ led him over to it. "Let's take a small break, huh?"

She pulled him down to sit, and he elbowed her in the arm. "Sorry," he mumbled, reaching up and rubbing her arm where he hit her. She shifted uncomfortably. "It's fine."

They were only on the piece of furniture for about a minute before CJ noticed that Ted was about to pass out. She jumped up and held his face. "No, no, no. Ted, stay awake. We gotta get upstairs." With no visible sign that he had heard her, she let out a sigh of guilt before she slapped him across the face. Hard.

He woke up instantly, blinking rapidly. She still held his jaw. "Ted, you are walking up those stairs with me. Do you understand?"

He blinked again, then grinned. A twinkle in his eyes made CJ shrink back a little. She grabbed his arm and helped him up.

It was a long time before the two got back up to the apartment. Ted was about to pass out, so CJ just dropped him onto the couch. He fell asleep grinning, and immediately began to snore. It wasn't loud, which was why CJ hadn't ever heard it before. Plus, he stayed up way later than she did, and she never got the chance to see him fall asleep. Even when she woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, she still didn't hear it. She didn't deliberately pause outside his door to listen into his room.

She let out a long sigh of relief, having gotten him safely home. But she was still left with all of the emotions that he had stirred up in her. There was something different about Ted that brought these emotions out in her. He had to be special in order to do it, because no one else had. She stayed up most of that night, trying to figure out what they meant.

* * *

_If you didn't know: It's now a tradition that I add this column to all my future stories. The end of each chapter tells the readers some things that were not specifically mentioned, but were hinted at that may be confusing._

_Obviously, CJ has feeling for Ted, but just doesn't know it. She had never felt love before, and so it's hard for her to understand. She doesn't hate him or anything, and it may look like it, but she just wanted him to stop so she didn't have to acknowledge the feelings she has for him._

_I'm not really sure why I put in that Hero or Hazard blog thing. I guess I was bored and wanted to add some fillers._

_I've got the general idea of the plot, but not all the small details. CJ will be a hero to Genocian City, she'll have moments with Ted, and _she will see her sister again_._

_Seriously, I would really, really, really, really like a few suggestions as to what you guys think should happen in the story. If you're an artist that likes to create pieces for other people for free, seriously consider making my cover. I'm an amateur, but maybe I'll even do it if I don't get any messages, who knows._

_I'm shipping them as Cynthadore. May sound lame, but I couldn't come up with anything else that sounded right. Cynthia. Theodore. Cynthadore._

_Sorry, I know half this chapter is me communicating to my readers (literally, almost 1,000 of it is this and in the beginning), and so if you don't read these, I could say that you may be missing some things, and I could also say that. I hope everyone who loves the story can find this! AKA the reviewers, the followers, and the favoriters who read the last book._

_Who wants to see who? Tell me and I'll throw them in, and if we want more than a glimpse, let me know. The first book I had many suggest Raven, and CJ had a decent conversation with her. So if you want your favorite character to have a nice conversation like that, let me know and we'll fit it in somehow! There will definitely be some Flash, since he is my favorite! Who's yours?_


	2. Hole in the Wall

**So, I now realized that I didn't italicize the conversation on the phone last chapter, but I did in this chapter. You'll see what I mean.**

**Chapter 2**

CJ woke up, immediately remembering the night before. Ted had been drunk, and telling her things that she didn't want to hear, especially not while he was drunk. It wouldn't have been better if he was sober. He would have expected her to tell him things, too, and wouldn't have let her escape easily. He would have chased after her if she ran. The drunk Ted probably would have just stayed on the ground, laughing.

Thinking of last night, CJ got up, realizing that she was still in her fireproof clothing, and headed out to the living room. Her footsteps must have woken him up, because he groaned once she stepped into the living room. She went around the couch to get a good look at him.

He was groaning and holding his arms up to block the light from blinding him. CJ, after a moment of hesitation, thinking he should suffer, went over to the dark curtains and pulled them shut, all light disappearing from the room.

He lowered his arms and sat up. Still letting out small groans, he rubbed his face. He still wore the clothing from last night, even his shoes, and his hair ruffled and flattened in odd, uneven places. To be honest with herself, she thought he looked horrible. His fault that he had drank so much.

"What happened?" he asked ruggedly through his hands. "I remember texting you, then heading out." He paused. "Ugh, how much did I _drink_? The rest is gone."

CJ shrugged, even though he couldn't see her. She was relieved that he didn't remember their journey home. "No idea, but you were pretty slammed."

His hands dropped and he looked up at her, eyes widened, all in one motion. She still saw the pain of the hangover written all over his face. "You were there?"

He looked panicky, but CJ didn't see the big deal. So what if she had been there? "No, but I walked you home."

He kept his gaze on hers for one more moment before he looked away and headed towards the kitchen. It had been a short-lived conversation, but for some reason, CJ was grateful; she felt like he would have asked her about last night if he had decided to talk to her, and she didn't want that.

* * *

Wallace went back to his work after he got a cup of coffee, and CJ ended up going out. She dressed in her fireproof suit and flew around the city. It was exhilarating and it took her mind off of worrying about Ted. He was a wreck, and really needed a breakthrough. She didn't think she could help; she didn't think anyone could.

She had changed her outfit again. She still had the black jacket, but she had gotten an exact copy of it, but this one bright red. She wore the black bra with this, and the black pants, but these had a yellow zig-zag line down the side. She also kept the red belt, but added the black fingerless gloves and changed the boots to red, too.

She saw a few people notice her, knew that they saw her as a hero, and wanted to live up to their expectations. She pulled out her comm, that was specifically made for her, fireproof so that she could have it while she used her powers. "Firebug to WatchTower."

After a second or two of nothing, she got a response. "_This is the WatchTower_."

She grinned as she heard Flash's voice. "Hey, Flash. I was wondering if you could direct me to any minor accidents. Car crashes, fires…." Those were the only two she knew that she could be of assistance in.

There was silence on his end as he typed away at his computer. "_Well, there's a robbery in progress on Main St. The police are on scene, and the gunman have taken hostages_." He paused. "_I don't think you can help there_."

CJ frowned. "You're right. They'd get nervous and harm the hostages."

"_Right_."

"Do you think I could go anyways? See how the police handle it?"

"_Sure. Don't get in their way, though. They don't like it, and may get a little angry at you_."

She almost rolled her eyes, knowing that he was speaking of past experience and giving advice that he had rarely taken.

CJ angled right and down, towards Main St. The bank was easy to find; there were about eight cop cars and one large police van outside it, with crowds forming on either side of the barriers that kept them safe from harm. "I won't. Thanks, Flash."

"_WatchTower out_."

The line went dead, and CJ lowered to the ground, behind the yellow tape, so as to not distract the police, and released the fire.

"It's Firebug!" One of the younger civilians said, and the ones that already hadn't noticed her looked.

CJ smiled nervously and gave them a short wave.

No one got near her, and they continued to stare. At the barricades, there was a commotion on the side that the police occupied. Two officers had shown up, trying to see what was happening. When they spotted her, they frowned. One of them said, "It's the hero. Firebug."

"What's she doing here?" The younger one asked his partner, not taking his eyes off CJ.

"You're going to let her help, right?" One of the civilians asked the two officers. "Yeah! She's a hero!" another one said.

CJ looked at them, confused. Like she and Flash discussed, she couldn't help. She could frighten the gunmen and they could do something to the hostages.

The older officer's gaze met hers, and they stared at each other. CJ didn't want to be the one to end up hurting someone, and she hoped that he saw that in her eyes. He grabbed his partner and the two stepped back from the barricade.

CJ looked up to the bank, wondering what was happening in there. The windows had been tinted by spray paint or something, and they couldn't see inside. CJ wanted to help, but didn't know how.

* * *

After about ten minutes of waiting and a gunshot going off inside, a group of officers showed up at the barricades again. "Firebug?" One of them asked her, the one that must have been the boss. His tag read O'Conner.

CJ shakily took a step towards them. "Yes?"

He waved her towards the barricade, and the other officers made a pathway for her. She approached him in four quick steps.

They only let her a few feet into their space, just far enough away so that the civilians couldn't hear them. CJ felt a little uncomfortable with being almost surrounded by the officers, but she sucked it up. If they wanted her help, she was glad.

"How hot can you get?" He asked. The younger officer shifted away with a cough, his face reddening slightly.

"I haven't tested it, but pretty hot."

"Can you melt metal?"

CJ nodded. "I can, yes."

"Give us a hand?" He paused. "That's why you're here, isn't it?"

CJ nodded again.

"Good." O'Conner nodded. "Come this way, please." She nodded, and he led her towards a sort of tent set up behind the police van. Where the officers were supposed to watch the perimeter, the detectives and SWAT were back here, in charge.

"Detective Bushart," The officer called, and CJ froze, hearing the name. Bushart was the one that had come to see her in the hospital after she passed out after the bridge incident.

From the crowd of people surrounding a large table, two heads lifted to look towards the voice, and one of them was Bushart. He left the table and met the officer halfway. "O'Conner. What do you need?" When his gaze landed on CJ, he froze, too. He quickly composed himself, then glared at O'Conner. "What is _she_ doing here?"

O'Conner ignored the angry tone. "I know that the back of the inner bank wall is made of metal. Firebug says she can melt metal."

"We've got explosives for that."

O'Conner rose and eyebrow at him. "That would make a very loud explosion, alerting the gunmen. Firebug is silent."

Bushart glared, and CJ could see that he didn't like it. "You have a point." He turned away. "I'll talk to my team." Then he returned to the table, grabbing everyone's attention. A few looked up to glance at CJ, and others glared. Flash was right. They didn't like that she had shown up.

CJ turned to O'Conner. He was smart, but it looked like Bushart knew that but didn't like that an older, lower ranking officer was indeed smarter. "Will you get in trouble for this?"

He shrugged. "Probably, but I'm not worried about it. I'm just trying to save those hostages, and I'll bring up any option that I think could help, even if it costs me my job."

CJ almost smiled at him. He just wanted to help, just like CJ. She was glad there were other people in the world that did. Of course, one would assume that all cops wanted to help, but CJ had heard that some only join the force for the pay and the power. O'Conner was different. He was older and more experienced, and seemed like he risked his job a lot, noticing the looks from both the officers and detectives.

Bushart returned, stepping into CJ's personal space, glaring at her. "Alright, you can help. But if you do _one_ thing that we haven't told you to do, _one thing_, you will get cuffed and brought down to the station."

CJ smirked at him, only intimidated a little. "Didn't we just clarify that I can melt metal? What are those cuffs made of again?"

His glare deepened, his voice lowering. "Maybe a tranquilizer then."

She glared back for a second, knowing that he would find a way. She did enjoy that she could make a joke in this kind of situation, though. CJ relaxed, all seriousness returning. "I want to help those people just as much as you do."

He stepped back, but the anger was still visible. "SWAT will take point," he gestured to the team that had assembled behind him. The smaller one handed him a vest with DETECTIVE on it. He put it on as he talked. "You'll stay under their protection until we get to our destination." A uniform suddenly appeared next to her and handed her a bulletproof as well. She looked down at it, having never put anything like it on before. Thankfully, O'Conner, who was still by her side, smiled and took it from her to help her put it on.

She thanked him, but Bushart glared again. "When we get to the wall, you will…. _burn_ it. I've seen that you can also absorb fire, so after you make a hole big enough for the team, but not big enough to collapse the building, you'll cool down the metal so that our team doesn't get injured on hot metal. Then you'll be escorted back here. Is there anything else we need to know?"

CJ's eyebrow twitched in a brief moment of concentration. "Not that I know of." She glanced at all the people surrounding and staring at her nervously; she wasn't going to bring up that she might freak out in closed places with these strangers and raise the temperature a little. They wouldn't bring her with them. "You might want to have a freeze ray on handy, though; I might get too hot for you to handle."

CJ hadn't meant for it to be a joke, but the few SWAT members chuckled at what she said while looking at Detective Bushart. His face emitted a red flush as he glared death looks at them. CJ smirked a little. Even if it hadn't been a joke to her, she liked that the SWAT were laughing with her. Having them laugh at Bushart was a plus.

She didn't have anything against the Detective. He seemed like he did his job well. But when she had jumped after a falling car off a bridge, fell unconscious and woke up in the hospital, Bushart had accused her of causing the accident on the bridge. She had wanted to save people, not throw them in a river to drown. He, along with the rest of the world, also didn't have Firebugs true identity to do a background check, so he didn't trust CJ.

Everyone around them had their vests and guns, minus CJ of course. "Do you have any questions?" Bushart asked, looking at CJ. She shook her head, shifting in the newly placed bulletproof vest. He glared, then looked around him, and in a harsher voice said, "Any of you."

The other police enforcement shifted, not knowing that the first question was directed at all of them, but he got no reply. He nodded, satisfied, and cocked his gun for extra effect. "Then let's go."

* * *

Along with SWAT and Bushart, another detective, this one female, and two male uniform cops, one of them O'Conner and the other the younger one that had first spotted her, and CJ went to the building adjacent to the bank, guns ready. The bank was a pretty big building, and so was the electronic store next to it. The building had already been evacuated, and so only their rushed footsteps, the rustling of their clothes, and a few whispered orders, and slight echoes were made down the deserted room.

Soon, CJ's job was over. The twelve of them found some wall, and they gave CJ the signal that this was the spot, lowering their guns but the two in the back watching their backs. She shooed them back, not wanting them to get hurt, but they only moved a foot. She rolled her eyes; they were going to get sweaty.

She placed her hands on the wall and in seconds it began to sizzle. She turned the heat up to get a faster and cleaner cut through the thick wood. Only one pipe ran through this section of the wall, and she didn't see any electrical wires at all. When she got to the metal, she had to turn the heat up even more, and finally heard the footsteps behind her moving away. Knowing that they were out of harm's way, she caught fire for more heat, to quicken the melt through the wall.

The pipe fell away easier than the wall. The wall's metal fell away as the metal turned to liquid, dripping from where her hands were down the floor. Streaks were made, like on a candle, but within a minute, a large hole had been made in the wall, enough for the average person to squeeze through.

The metal was still dripping, hot and untouchable for the normal human, and so CJ reversed the fire and sucked in all heat around her, leaving the room temperature at an even seventy five degrees, and all the metal in a solid, cool form. She couldn't really see what was through the wall, but her job was done.

Once she was back to normal, she turned around to the police. All of them had taken at least three steps back, some even further. None of them took a step toward her when she finished, and none of them looked like they were breathing, all for three seconds. Then SWAT moved towards her, avoiding touching her, and the two detectives waited for her to go with the uniforms before they, too, went through the hole in the wall.

CJ and the two officers went back out behind the police van, where she and the other cops waited for SWAT to do their job.

Two long, agonizing minutes later, the door to the bank opened, and a woman stumbled down the steps out onto the street. She was followed by another woman, two men, and many more. The hostages. SWAT and the detectives had secured the gunmen. Cheers went up in and outside of the police tape, and CJ found herself grinning. They were safe.

The moments were all happy afterwards. The hostages reunited with each other or loved ones. The few injured went to the waiting ambulances to get checked. The gunmen were escorted out of the building by SWAT and the detectives into nearby cop cars. The cops around her were congratulating each other at the victory.

CJ was about to leave when Detective Bushart appeared next to her. He nodded, his face a blank, unreadable expression. "GCPD would like to thank you for your help."

CJ smirked at his way of saying thank you. She would have asked if she had his trust, but somewhat felt like she did. She nodded back to him. "You're welcome. And good work, Detective."

They didn't really have much else to say, so CJ walked away, finding a safe area to take off without burning anyone, which happened to be just outside the bank doors. This made it so that everyone saw her take off, flying away, a streak of fire in the sky.

* * *

Later that day, the Genocian City Police Department would find a letter on their captain's desk, from an anonymous sender, saying that a check had been sent to the electronic store and the bank so that they could repair the wall, and that there was no need for the GCPD to have to pay to repair it. Only a few were upset about this. The rest raised their mugs up in a wide spread toast to whoever paid for the wall, and a job well done to the team that ended that bank robbery. Only a few had an idea that a certain league had been generous and been willing to pay for damages done by their member. Only a few.

* * *

_If you didn't know: Bushart, O'Conner, Genocian City: all made up by yours truly. This story is mostly OCs, and the general idea of it is that this is kind of like a Firebug comic. She is a superheroine and a member of the Justice League. CJ's got her own city to protect, like a few other unnamed League members, and soon, will have her own villain!_

_Had a lot of fun writing the slight cockiness of CJ, and I hope you enjoyed it!_

_Please don't hate me with the GCPD. I know Gotham has GCPD, but it was an accident that my city is GC. I really want to change it now, but then it would be different than in the first book. Again, sorry to all the Batman lovers. Also for any past or future chapters that have Batman and don't have Batman as Batmany as he could be. Like I've stated earlier, I'm only great with my original characters, not that great with the real ones. Sorry!_

_To be continued…._


	3. Sapphires

**Sorry that this chapter is short and all about Cynthadore, haha!**

**Chapter 3**

By the time CJ returned to the apartment, it was only three in the afternoon. To disguise herself- hopefully it worked- CJ had stuffed a black beanie in her jacket. With it, she stuffed all her hair up into her, covered her eyebrows and ears, rolled down the sleeves of her jacket, buttoned it up and turned her pants inside out so that no one could see the yellow (She had changed at a gas station bathroom, which was outside, so that hopefully no one saw). Hopefully, people didn't connect the red jacket and boots to Firebug.

Once inside her apartment, she began to unbutton her jacket and removed the beanie, letting her long red hair fall around her shoulder. She removed the gloves and was about to take the jacket off and go to her room to change when she walked completely into the living area and saw a woman standing by the woman.

CJ quickly dropped the gloves and brought fire to her hand as the woman turned around to face CJ. "Who are you?" CJ asked. She was definitely not human, having pale blue skin, black eyes with no whites, but other than those she looked human. She had a pink outfit on, armor really. She had shoulder pads, bracers, chest plate, boots, chin pads, a helmet, and bottoms only wrapping around her butt. The armor was lined with white. Her helmet was more of a sort of crown, her face open but protecting the top of her forehead and the front of the top of her head, leading into two point that were symmetrical and equally distance, pulling back long flowing black hair. A type of pink fabric hung from her waist, but only in the front, dangling in front of her legs, and another piece was around her shoulders, falling into a type of cape.

She had to be an alien, but CJ didn't think she was Justice League. And why did her armor look so _familiar_?

The woman smiled, showing perfectly aligned white teeth. "There is no need for that," she said, looking at the fire in CJ's hand. Her voice sounded like beautiful singing. "I come only to speak with you."

CJ shifted, moving towards the kitchen. "Ted!" she called, glancing back towards the hall.

The woman smiled again. "He is sleeping peacefully, and having pleasant dreams."

"Who are you?" CJ asked, not completely believing that Ted was even here. "What have you done to Ted?"

The woman shook her head and held her hands together. "My name is Zarriane. My duty is to tend to you. I am not to intervene, but you are not following your path as quickly as we'd like."

"Duty? What are you talking about? My path? Are you some kind of Doctor Fate? He doesn't really control fate, you know."

The woman smiled again. She took a step towards CJ, and CJ took a step back. The woman frowned slightly, then lifted one of her hands. A pink light seemed to glow and shimmer from her, towards CJ. She went to back away from it, but she was frozen. She struggled to get out of whatever was happening, but could barely move a millimeter. She couldn't bring the fire or take the release the fire in her hand, either.

The woman in pink stopped a foot from CJ and stared down at the fire still in her hand. "I know that you will learn to embrace your feelings. You just need a little help." She met CJ's gaze and smiled slightly again. "Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you. I'm here to help." Then she touched CJ on the forehead, and CJ was released.

Her eyelids were heavy, she became drowsy and numb. She fell to the floor and was immediately unconscious.

* * *

_CJ was sitting at the island that separated the kitchen and the living room. She was in a white tank top and gray shorts, and her hair was all brought to one side. She sighed, bored, for about the fourth time. She had been waiting patiently now for a while._

_She heard his footsteps from the hallway coming toward her, and stood with a small grin on her face. Ted came into the kitchen, and headed to the fridge. He stopped halfway, seeing CJ standing there, grinning._

"_What?" He asked, coming around the island to stand in front of her._

_She shrugged, her grin growing. She took a step towards him, inches away, and gently grabbed the collar of his shirt. "I don't know," she said teasingly._

_He smiled, teeth and all. "Yeah you do," he told her, reaching out to grab her around the waist, and leaning his face down towards her. His gaze lowered to her mouth, the smile still present._

_CJ reached up on her tippy toes and brought their faces together, bringing her other hand up and around his neck. She felt herself grow warm as they kissed, and it felt so right, like every time they did._

_Ted moaned against her mouth, driving him to grab her around her waist and lift her up onto the island. She gasped, and then giggled. "I do."_

_They pressed against each other, and they fit against each other perfectly. Being with Ted, even if they were just talking, was where CJ was meant to be. He made her happy, when they were together or when she was just thinking about him. He was with her wherever she went, because she knew that he loved her. They were made to be with each other._

_Soon enough, Ted no longer had a shirt on, and CJ was in the process of losing her shorts. CJ began to grow hotter by a few degrees. She was getting excited. Ted began to sweat, but didn't mind the hot temperature. Both enjoyed the heat that was a part of her._

* * *

CJ woke up with a gasp. Ted's face was over hers, and she sat up with a start and backed away from him, doing a sort of crab walk. She ended up sitting with her back to the back of the couch.

Her dreams were usually incoherent; there were blurs, lights, colors, and sounds, but CJ never saw or heard anything that made _sense_. So why had she suddenly had a dream that was exactly like living? And why was her first one with _Ted_? In the dream, her and Ted had been _together_. What could have brought the dream? Waking up with him over her certainly hadn't helped.

She stared at Ted, shocked, feeling herself grow warm all over, even the temperature growing a few degrees. Was this real? Was Ted really there, kneeling on the floor, three feet away? Was this still part of the dream?

She looked around, and saw her gloves nearby lying on the floor past the couch. How had she fallen asleep on the floor? She had been out at that bank robbery, come home, and had begun to relax. She didn't remember passing out.

Ted shifted, making her look back at him. She was awake. It had been a dream. She wouldn't kiss Ted, and Ted wouldn't kiss her back. She still felt like running away, but managed to stay put. What was he going to do?

"Are you okay?" He asked, brows lowering in concern. CJ managed to nod a few times. He stayed back, and CJ saw that he saw that she was fine where she was. "Did you pass out?"

She noticed that her jacket was open, and quickly wrapped it around herself. Ted noticed this, making him even more confused. CJ didn't need him to see her bare stomach. She pushed her hair away from her face, bringing her legs closer to herself. "I'm not sure."

She didn't know what was happening. She only started feeling like this when she had come to this world three weeks ago. No, when she met Ted. He was the closest friend she had ever had. Was that it? He was a doctor. Not a medical doctor, but a science doctor. Maybe he knew how the brain worked, and could tell her what it all meant. She really didn't want to, because she felt it would make her more uncomfortable, but she forced herself to. "Ted, I-"

An explosion sounded nearby, and it was loud enough to be heard without an open window. The floor beneath them shook, and CJ wondered for a moment if this was what an earthquake felt like.

But no, it was an explosion, because she and Ted stood and went to the closest window and peered outside.

Fire and smoke rose from a street nearby. CJ immediately went for the window, but Ted reached out a hand and gently grabbed her wrist. He didn't ask her to stop, or ask what she was doing. He knew that she had seen the fire, and she could put it out instantly. Her arms burned, the blood rushing and the temperature raising, but CJ looked up into his eyes, waiting for him to say something.

His gaze tore into CJ, and she really wanted to back away, but another part of her wanted to stay put. Even get closer. CJ fought to stay put. His eyes were pleading when he said, "Be careful."

She gave him a small smile, and he released her wrist. He took a step back, and she felt him watching as she opened the window and jumped out into the open sky.

She caught fire a story or two below, then glided towards the explosion sight, most thoughts of Ted gone.

* * *

_If you didn't know: There was a Zamaron in their apartment, or Pink Lantern to some. They can teleport directly to a person in love and do something magical to make their love stronger. This Zamaron was growing impatient with CJ, because she didn't acknowledge her feelings for Ted, so she's giving CJ a little jump start with that dream that she gave her. The dream will be further explored in later chapters._

_I'm also not sure if Zamarons do this exactly, but I do know that they keep two people in love from falling out of love, so I kinda just experimented with this one._

_This will be the only time I'll ask for a review or feedback, mostly because I'm curious to see if any of you have better ideas on how the two will get together. I'd also like to know if any Green Lantern fans would like to chip in. Did you like that I added the Zamaron in, or am I putting way too many leaguers into the story? Your ideas (and complaints) are welcome here!_


	4. Caution: Explosives

**Chapter 4**

The explosion had been some gas leak in a factory, and CJ had helped evacuate any survivors, being immune to the heat of the fire. The building had collapsed on her, but she had insisted to the medics that she was fine. She had been out the rest of the day, and had bruises all over from being buried under some metal. But she hadn't broken any bones, and she was glad that she could help her city. There had been reporters at the scene as well, but CJ did a good job of avoiding them.

CJ went home and immediately went to her room. The study door was closed, which was a rare sight. CJ didn't dare go in to check on Ted. He was already upset with his work, and didn't need to be bothered.

She went into her room and stripped from her fireproof clothing into cotton ones. She immediately felt more comfortable, but she still hurt from battling Willow. She crawled into bed, not without a few quiet grows of discomfort, and fell asleep.

She woke up the next morning in even more pain. She figured taking a hot shower would help, but the water wasn't hot enough, and so she turned up the temperature. Within minutes, she heard the bathroom door open with a slam, and she covered herself up instinctively, even though there was a shower curtain in between her and Ted.

"CJ! You're steaming up the whole apartment!"

"Sorry!" she told him. "I hadn't noticed."

He left, mumbling something, but was waiting outside for her when she finished and got dressed.

The steam had mostly cleared, but was still present. He was in a plain white t-shirt and in gray sweatpants, his hair messy and rumpled. She had never seen him in sweatpants before.

"Are you alright?" She looked up at his face, and he looked away, but still waited for an answer. He looked upset, angry, and guilty, all at the same time.

She waved him off. "Yeah, fine." She turned away from him and headed back to her room, trying not to limp as she did.

"CJ." He was at her back in seconds, lightly touching her on the shoulder. "You look hurt."

She stopped, turning to him. She ignored his worry, and narrowed her eyes at him. She was sorry to do it, but she did. "You look worse than me." His eyes widened in slight shock, but she continued. He had been straining himself for too long, and CJ hated it. Plus, she didn't want him to worry about her. She was fine, he wasn't. It was simple. "You wake up early, now, and you still stay up late. You're not getting anywhere in your work, and it's making you stressed. You need to take a break, but your definition of a break is to go out and get drunk, which only made it worse. You need to sleep a full eight hours, eat more regularly, and maybe go out for a walk.

"I know that this research is half your life, but it can wait for a few days. If you're angry, go to a gym and hit a punching bag, or do some yoga, or go meet someone new. Don't pace the living room, working on your research. Don't even think about your research. You need to forget about it completely."

Instead of shock, he now held anger again. "I know I need a distraction. The problem is, I can't find one. The ones I want won't work."

She was about to ask him what he wanted, she felt like he said those exact words on purpose and didn't know why, but then she saw a red beeping to her right. She could see through her doorway, and on her bedside table was her comm. The beeping meant that the League was trying to contact her. She glanced back at Ted. "Hold on."

She stormed into her room and picked up the comm. "This is Firebug."

CJ was shocked to hear Batman on the other end. "You're needed at the WatchTower. Now."

She looked back to Ted, who was waiting outside her door, glaring in at her, but didn't get a chance to say anything to him or to Batman. White light surrounded CJ, and in the next moment, she was on the WatchTower.

Mr. Terrific was at the monitors, and Batman was waiting just outside the teleporters for her when she arrived. "Let's go," he said once she spotted him, then turned and headed to the doors, not looking back or pausing to see if she'd follow. CJ, knowing that she had no choice- for the short period that she had been here, she knew that his orders were to be listened to, not out of fear, but because he always had a good reason- jogged to catch up and follow him.

She wondered about Ted, if he wondered what happened to her, that she was safe with the League. She thought about what he last said to her and the expression on his face didn't sit well with her.

"What's so urgent?" She asked once she fell into step beside Batman, only a little upset that she was forced up to the WatchTower, pulled from her conversation with Ted. She looked around curiously and confused, but found no one rushing in commotion or any cries of pain. She was here to help, wasn't she? Was her conversation with Ted interrupted for nothing?

He didn't say a word, and CJ barely registered where they were until they arrived in some kind of lab. The walls were still all white, and there was a window into small five by five room with nothing in it. There were table and equipment, along with another staff member at a computer. When Batman walked in, the staff member, not a superhero because he was wearing the civilian jumpsuit uniform, nodded to Batman and told him that he was ready.

"Good," Batman said, pausing by the small window into the small room. He hit a button at an almost invisible panel, and a door opened into the small room. He turned to CJ. "We're going to test your abilities."

CJ visibly fell in disappointment. She thought she was here to help save someone, not be some guinea pig. But she had been meaning to see how hot she could get, and knew that that was what this room did, somehow.

With a small glare at Batman, she stepped in and faced the window. The door closed behind her, and she saw Batman's through the window, and could hear him from some speakers or something. "The glass and walls are fireproof, as well as air locked; the heat will be contained to that room."

CJ nodded. "Alright. So…. what do I do?"

"Grow as hot as possible."

CJ's eyes widened. "I put a crater in New York City. _This_ can hold it back?"

Batman nodded. Well, it wasn't really a nod, more like just lowering his head. One had to be watching him in order to catch it. Good thing CJ was. She blinked a few times. She didn't want to burn the WatchTower down. "A-are you sure?"

The usual glare returned, and CJ held up her hands. "Alright, okay. Fine." She took in a deep breath. She wanted to test her abilities, but she didn't want to burn through the walls. She also didn't want to feel weak and cold when she came back down to normal temperature.

But she did it anyways. She rose the temperature within her, until fire broke out all over her, and kept getting hotter. She did this slowly, still worried that the walls would melt. When she saw that they didn't she was still cautious, ready to stop if Batman said to.

The temperature got hotter and hotter, and soon enough, she couldn't see through the fire to the window or Batman. But she still had her fireproof comm, which she was grateful for. As the fire got hotter, it also got thicker, and soon was a thick liquid. She was now controlling lava-like temperatures.

It was silly for CJ to be worried. The walls were not melting, and she didn't think they would. So she kept it up.

Like the time she created a crater in the Big City, CJ felt strong. The heat brought her warmth and safety, and she felt confident. All her worries were gone, but she still knew why she was here, unlike last time. Last time, she had forgotten that there were others that she could harm. Now, she was still conscious that she could hurt the others, and was ready to let the fire go. She told herself that she would in a heartbeat, even if it felt so good.

"Firebug," she heard in her ear. "You may stop now."

CJ let out a long breath, and with it, some heat. If she thought she had been slow bringing it, this was snail walking. She knew what would come if she let it all go; she would be cold. CJ's worst fear was cold, but she had made a promise to herself that she would rather die of the cold than hurt others. It didn't mean she couldn't be afraid of it.

So after a few more minutes, she was finally able to leave the chamber and step out next to Batman. To her, it felt like she was stepping outside in the middle of winter without a jacket on. Of course, it was the average room temperature of 72 degrees. He was at the monitors, studying the lines and numbers, statistics that CJ didn't understand. Hearing her step up next to her, he told her, "From these readings, we can assume that you can reach temperatures hotter than the sun."

CJ's jaw fell open. "_What_?" She couldn't have grown that hot in the chamber. And she didn't think it was possible.

"It may even be possible to actually turn into heat, without a physical body."

Her eyes widened. More like bugged out of her head. "_How is that even possible?_"

He ignored her, which angered CJ because she was confused and surprised, but this was Batman. Even if she hadn't actually known him, she knew that he was not to be messed with. She was still allowed to think about stabbing him in that stupid mask.

If she could become fire- not just control it, but be fire- then why hadn't it happened yet? Why hadn't she arrived in this world as fire, instead of human-ish? The questions would never be answered, and so she forced herself to just accept what he said.

She turned away, to face the door, but still felt like she had to ask. Maybe he wasn't done with her, maybe he was. She never knew with Batman. "Can I go now?"

He turned and gave her a glance. Since he said nothing, she took it as a yes and left.

She didn't go back to Genocian. She didn't want to confront Ted again, with him looking sick without any sleep. Instead, she decided to go for a walk.

In the hallway, she met some league members for the first time. Some…. diverse members.

"I told ya once before: This is a dollar."

"You say this is currency, but it merely looks to be a piece of parchment."

The one with the accent- well, both had accents- the one with the western/southern/cowboy accent stopped their walk and glared at his companion. The first thing CJ noticed was the rather large white cowboy hat he wore upon his head. Then the red bandana around his neck that was pulled up to cover his face from the nose down, then the gun holsters at his sides, and lastly the cowboy boots on his feet. After a long thought, CJ recognized him as Vigilante.

At his side was a man in shining gold armor, with a gray helmet and a red vest with a black bird crest on it, with a sword sheath at his side. This man exactly resembled a knight, like in the medieval times, and his accent was close to that; kind of like a European. CJ knew that this had to be Shining Knight.

Vigilante had stopped the two from walking, and seeing and hearing their conversation, CJ slowed, intrigued.

He continued to glare. "Yeah, it's paper, but it's still money."

The knight shook his head, refusing to accept what the other man was telling him. "How is this parchment worth anything? Surely gold or silver has more value." Before Vigilante could respond, he went on. "You've shown me the coins. How come they are not worth more than this paper?"

Vigilante shook his head, then spotted CJ. Despite his frustration, he touched his hat as he nodded to her out of respect. "Mornin', Firebug." At his side, the medieval man bowed at the waist in greeting.

"Good morning," she said quietly, giving them a small smile. She was glad that he knew her name. She shook her head at the confusion of the knight, and pulled her phone out to check the time. After a quick glance, she stuffed back in her pocket.

Before she could pass the two heroes, however, she stopped at the sound of Shining Knights voice.

"Excuse, miss. What was that that you held in your hand?"

CJ paused and looked to him. He was indicating her pocket.

Vigilante threw his hands up again. "I already tried to explain it to ya, Justin! It's a cell phone."

* * *

After CJ escaped the sounds of Vigilante and Shining Knight arguing, she literally bumped into another league member as she turned the corner. She let out a shriek as she felt the solid body of the man, and jumped back, startled.

The man, instinctively, reached out and steadied CJ by holding on to her arms. He looked down at her with worry and slight amusement.

She was startled because he was a rather large, shirtless man with a golden helmet that covered his face. He was buff, as buff as a man who worked out nonstop, and wings sprouting from his back. CJ knew that this was Hawkman, a Thanagarian. She didn't know much else about his story, other than he was reincarnated and may or may not have a face underneath the mask. The man looked like a man-hawk. A hawkman.

"Uh, sorry, wasn't watching…."

"Do not allow yourself to worry about it. It is an incident of little importance." He gave her a small smile of kindness as he dropped his hands from her and stepped back.

CJ immediately thought that this was sort of how Ted talked when he was in one of his nerd moods, talking all smart and scientificy. If he did it in a sort of medieval way, CJ would like it even better.

She mentally shook her head, clearing all thoughts of Ted away. She nodded to the shirtless man in front of her. "Right. I'll just…." She pointed behind him, and slowly and awkwardly stepped around him.

_Yup_, she thought. _Just another day at the WatchTower_.

* * *

_If you didn't know: As per request from a certain Trickster, CJ has now met Vigilante and Shining Knight! I really enjoyed having Vigilante try to explain how the modern money system works. And I know I exaggerated a little on Hawkman, I know he doesn't necessarily talk in bigger words, but he's not of Earth, so I feel that all "aliens" should speak more formally. Hope you enjoyed it!_

_I am really trying to make CJ a part of the team, and by doing that she must have her own villain/enemy/difficult person to defeat._

_But it will have to wait, because next chapter will change the course of the story. CJ had a hard time with Ted, but she'll have an even harder time with this. Stay tuned!_


	5. Surprise

**Forgive me guys, but I lost this chapter, so I had to re-write it. With that being said, it may be too fast or I may have left something out that was in the original chapter. I can't memorize it word for word, but I got most of it re-written. Oh, and sorry about the run-on sentence. Here you are!**

**Chapter 5**

It was a day after CJ had done the tests up on the WatchTower, and she was still upset. With Ted, mostly, but also because she didn't understand her own feelings. So she decided to clear her head and take a walk.

She ended up walking in Memorial Park, which sounded just like it was called. There were memorials throughout it, where crowds of Genocians gathered. Kind of like the Statue of Liberty to New York. The memorials were of everything; a well-known and respected judge that passed, a firefighter that risked his life but got a dozen people out of a burning building before it collapsed on him, a humane society that is also well respected and received many donations for their respect towards all animals, an organization that helps cancer patients in all ways, including housing them and helping them reintegrate into their lives, fallen police officers from shoot outs, and some even dated back to the past, like the man that founded the city, Mark Genocian, the man who created the park, and so much more.

Therefore, there were many advertisements and such, including flyers for the Genocian Fair that would begin in a few days. CJ assumed Genocian Fair was also a big deal in the city, mostly from observing all the people handing out flyers and people actually accepting them as they walked by. There were signs everywhere, and so many people talking about it. She guessed they didn't have much carnivals in the city.

CJ found a seat on a bench, away from most of the crowds, near a statue of a man in a top hat. Supposedly he was the one that built Callahan Tower, Mr. Callahan. He wasn't that big of a deal if there was no one snapping pictures of his statue, which CJ was glad for. She was somewhat alone. Now she could think, about what, she didn't know- she just wanted to think.

* * *

"_Watchtower to Firebug_."

CJ was startled, so much that she almost dropped her coffee. After she recollected herself, she replied. Hopefully those around her thought she was on a Bluetooth.

"Go ahead." She didn't recognize the voice.

"_Wonder Woman has asked to see you, if you're not busy_."

CJ stood, immediately exiting the park. "I'm ready now, just let me get out of sight first."

She swore she heard a small chuckle from the man she was talking to, but he said nothing else.

CJ threw her cup of coffee out as she passed a garbage can, then continued to weave in and out of the people towards an alley. If she got deep enough inside, surely no one would see her. The only risk to this was that it was day time. To be completely honest with herself, CJ didn't really care if anyone saw her, especially out here.

Since some teammates had said having people know where you live was a bad thing, CJ was only a little worried about it. No one knew where she lived if she suddenly teleported into a park or the middle of the street. Teleporting was fine. Flying, on the other hand, was different. People could see where she goes if she flew, and follow her to her apartment, if she went. She also didn't care if people saw her out on the street. She _did_ care if she was seen with Ted, because then they'd be able to follow him to their place and then it would become a big mess.

So she found an alley, then told the whoever she was speaking to that she was ready. Within seconds the white light surrounded her, and CJ once again felt the pull of teleportation. Ted told her it was pretty much taking apart all your molecules, moving you to this spot, then putting all the molecules back. She didn't completely understand how that happened, but at least she could get to the WatchTower safely. To CJ, teleporting felt like having her insides shifting, like they wanted to come out of her body, but thought better of it and just decided to move around like jelly. It was all odd, but it was over in two seconds.

On the WatchTower, Red Arrow was at the monitors. She didn't know the man, but knew _of_ him, and so registered his voice into her head. He gave her a curt nod before he went back to watching the screens.

Though CJ had spent a turn at the monitors, Red Tornado had never taught her how to teleport someone up. What if it was an emergency? Would that mean that CJ would have to find someone that knew how to teleport? But then whoever needed the teleport could get hurt.

But she shook the thoughts away, because she was here to see Wonder Woman, whom CJ practically ran into as she walked into the halls. They smiled at each other in greeting, and without any hesitation Wonder Woman led her down the hall.

"So, what do you need me for?"

"We wanted to wait a few hours so she could calm down before we called you. She's been asleep for that time, but should be up any minute now."

Had she missed something? Maybe she zoned out for the first part. "Um, who are we talking about?"

Her answer was to lead her down the med bay, into a familiar quarantine room. She almost fell over into a coughing fit at what she saw.

In the bed was a woman with bright red hair, pasty pale, and so familiar. CJ at first thought maybe it was some kind of trick, playing over a video of the room of when she had spent time in it. But then she came to the real conclusion. The woman looked exactly like her, but was not her. "_Care_?"

The woman, hearing her nickname, was startled awake. She jumped out of bed, searching the room franticly, not recognizing her surroundings. When her eyes landed on CJ, she froze. "Cynth? Is that you?"

CJ nodded. "Yeah, Care."

Caroline cautiously approached the glass. "This has to be a dream. All of it."

CJ didn't know what "all of it" meant, but she tried to stay calm. "No, this is real. I- I'm sorry I couldn't tell you where I was."

"And where is this?"

CJ glanced at Wonder Woman, who gave a slight shrug. Right. It wasn't like Caroline knew what the Justice League was. CJ hadn't when she first came here. "We're safe here, I promise. No one will hurt you."

Caroline, too, glanced at Diana. "She looks familiar," she said casually, like she was talking to herself, slightly confused.

CJ shook her head. "Are you alright?"

Caroline's breaths began to quicken as she searched the ground in thought. "I was going to meet Keith at your apartment." _Ha, so his name_ is _Keith_, CJ thought, before her twin continued. "I wanted to go through your things, because it's been weeks. I finally admitted to myself that you weren't coming back." She blinked, hard, trying to clear something away. "I fell up the steps, distracted by some trick of the light, and then it happened."

Caroline placed her hand on the glass to steady herself. CJ saw the mist form on it, and she stared at it, confused. "Care, what happened?"

She looked up at CJ. "_This_." Then CJ saw it. Her hands were a pale white, and looked like there was a thin snow on them. Was that…. _ice_?

"CJ, you're needed out here."

It took a lot of force to get herself to look away from her twin to see Batman standing in the doorway. She glanced at Caroline one more time, shaking her head. No, she was just seeing things. She joined Batman out in the hall.

Once the door was closed behind them, he handed her a small screen, this size of her hand. What was it? "What-" Then it turned on, showing a video clip. As CJ stared at it, it seemed familiar. It was only after the woman entered the picture when she realized that it was her apartment steps. A woman with bright red hair, CJ, was about to walk up the steps. No, that wasn't CJ. She rarely ever wore t-shirts. But who-

The woman, immediately after stumbling up the steps, began to frantically swat her hands around. She stood and looked to the sky. Though there was no sound, CJ swore she would hear screaming if there was. Then her skin changed. At first, CJ thought it was snowing, but only on the woman. It was strange. Then, her skin started to change. It turned from a pale white to an almost translucent blue/white. Her hair changed, too. Within a minute, the woman was clutching the ground, breathing hysterically. Then she stopped moving altogether. She looked like an ice sculpture. How was that possible?

CJ handed the screen back to him. "I don't understand."

Batman took the device. "Your sister came through a portal and now has ice powers. When her emotions are uncontrollable, she turns to complete ice."

Caroline had powers. When CJ had been in the quarantine room earlier, Caroline had begun to freeze. Because of her emotions. It was much like what happened to CJ when she came to this world.

"In order to keep your sister calm, it would be best if you didn't see her."

CJ glared at him. "What? She's my sister! I have to-"

He returned the glare and interrupted her. "Do you want the same thing that happened to you happen to her?"

No. She didn't want Caroline to feel the guilt and shame of hurting another person. Batman knew this. The only way to keep her safe was to stay away.

* * *

_If you didn't know: CJ's twin Caroline came through a portal as well and is now in the WatchTower. Caroline has ice powers and when she begins to freak out (which is all the time) she slowly turns to solid ice. Batman showed her a video of what happened, which is right after she came through the portal she immediately froze to solid ice. Much like CJ immediately caught fire when she did in book one._

_Sorry guys, I know this was rushed. Like I said, I lost the chapter once and really didn't like re-writing it, but I tried to keep it working. And yes, CJ is just going to ditch her sister in there, but she'll pay for it later, I promise._


	6. Fair Game

**This chapter is all about CJ and Ted. Enjoy the awkwardness!**

**Not everyone will get a happy ending in this story, the characters and maybe even the readers. And yes, CJ left her twin alone to help her and herself. "Better for everyone" and all that junk. Sorry.**

**Warning: This chapter contains a curse word. Cover the eyes of all small children. Do not let them read the first paragraph. Haha.**

**Chapter 6**

CJ rolled over in her bed. Since she teleported back down from the WatchTower, she hadn't been able to relax. She was worried about her sister, but thinking about it made CJ feel like a shitty sister. She just abandoned her twin in a space station, scared and confused. She hated herself, and partially Batman, for abandoning her. CJ would have felt better if she had Caroline with her when she first appeared in this world. She would have had support, a friend to help her calm down. But if CJ _did_ go up there and stay by her sister's side, Caroline could turn to ice again. CJ didn't want her twin to suffer like that. _It's for her own good_.

She flipped over again, trying to clear her head, but it wasn't working all that well. She needed a distraction.

She bolted up and blinked. A distraction. It was perfect. Of course, she only needed herself to become stressed when she thought of it. She was glad she was already dressed in civilian clothes.

She practically jogged to her door and swung it open, and before she could ask herself if Ted was even in the study, she slammed the door open. Fortunately, he was dressed.

He jumped at the noise, turning in his chair to look at the intruder at his door. "CJ, what-"

She marched over to him and pulled her only slightly grimy roommate out of his chair and shoved him to the door. "Go take a shower. We're going out."

* * *

CJ hadn't really thought out anything except just getting Ted out of the apartment, so when they walked down the stairs and out onto the street, the silence between them was awkward.

She was still wearing her long sleeve dark gray shirt, her black fireproof pants, and her black fireproof boots. Her hair was barely lifting in the slight wind, and she shoved it out of her face, then pulled her sleeves over her fingers.

Ted was wearing something different for a change. He still wore a white button up dress shirt, but his sleeves were rolled up hastily at the elbows, and CJ had to admit it was kind of cute to see him not so neat when he could have been. He was also wearing blue faded jeans, which she had never seen before. His shirt wasn't tucked in, and hung over his waist. His shoes were still nice, blending in enough so that no one really looked down. He still had slight stubble across his face. He hadn't bothered to shave it all the way lately, just taking an electric razor to it. Maybe it made him feel more relaxed. His hair was shorter than usual. When did he have time to cut it? It was still brown and wavy, and his blue eyes seemed dull and bored.

CJ was going to change that. Without saying a word, they began to walk. CJ didn't really know where she was going until she saw the sign. _Genocian Fair_. It was only a few blocks from here. But they were already going. She couldn't stop herself now, or she'd feel like a coward.

_We're going to have fun_, she told herself. She kept repeating it over and over in her head, as if it would make it true. The sun was setting, but up ahead, CJ could see string lights everywhere.

"CJ, where are we-" But they were already there. They both stopped, and CJ looked up at him. She watched him realize where they were and watched his expression change from confusion to disbelief. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead with a laugh of disbelief. "You did not bring me to the fair."

He opened his eyes to meet CJs grin. She didn't really know why she was happy all of a sudden. Seeing his reaction cheered her up. "Afraid to act like a kid again?"

He took it as a challenge. First, they went to do the simple stuff. They watched small shows, to ease the tension. They watched a ventriloquist perform with puppets. He was a comedian, and the two of his puppets were supposed to be fighting over a woman that did not appear at all. They insulted each other, the others' mother, and even themselves. CJ didn't quite understand half of it, but some of the jokes were just too corny. Ted seemed to get it, at least more than her. Then they watched a man juggle first three tennis balls, then five, eight, and eventually a dozen. The balls went at least ten feet into the air, and CJ was fascinated by it. She didn't understand how a human being could catch them, without the help of magic or some kind of ability. At times, she swore the balls were glowing, but it could have just been the effect of the string lights.

She caught Ted watching her, then blushed, embarrassed. In the lighting of the white string lights, the yellow lanterns and the candles, he looked different. His blue eyes were glowing, standing out in the dark with the help of the lights. Where he usually looked pale due to the fact that he never leaved the apartment, under this light, he looked healthy and strong. He even looked stronger with his arms revealed. She had always imagined him skinny and lanky because he was a nerd, but maybe she was wrong. His freckles stood out more, lighting up his face. He looked…. happy.

It was why her blush deepened. He was happy looking at _her_. CJ didn't know what else to do, so she threw the attention away from her and suggested to watch another show.

They headed into a tent that was only lit by candles. There were about twenty wooden chairs placed in five rows of four, with just enough room for people to maneuver, and for the white screen at the other end with some equipment behind it. As everyone settled into their seats- CJ was a little uncomfortable with the closeness, and so instead of touching the strangers shoulder, she leaned into Ted a little too much- people came from behind the screen and blew out the candles. Then they went back behind the screen and started the show.

It was one of those Asian movie things, where a light appeared behind the screen, and objects were placed in front of the light to cast shadows onto the screen. It told the story of how a samurai gained the love of an emperor's daughter, all without any talking involved, just calm Zen-like music.

CJ enjoyed it, and exited the tent with a smile.

Then the two began to act like kids again. They went on all the rides, most of which CJ had never been on before. It took a lot of pleading and mock puppy-dog-eyes from Ted, but she went on them with him. The first few seconds, it was terrifying, not in control of the speed or movements. After she could clear her head and think, she realized it wasn't any different than flying. If she just relaxed enough, and let herself get lost in the movements of the ride, it was very much like flying. Then they went on the same ride at least three more times before moving on.

After they rode all the rides enough to admit to each other they were dizzy, they got cotton candy and popcorn until their stomachs hurt, and never had a proper dinner. They almost never stopped smiling, and laughed at the others' excitement.

As they sat at the table, CJ saw movement behind Ted, and he followed her gaze. A young boy, maybe four, with a mop of red/orange hair and freckles was staring up at Ted, literally a foot away. Ted jumped when he noticed the boy. He especially scooted away when he noticed that the boy had slimy food particles on his hands and face. "Uh, hello."

The boy gave him a grin, one of his front teeth leaving a gap, but did nothing else. Ted furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

CJ burst out giggling at his reaction. It was like he had never seen a child before.

The boy turned his attention to CJ and stepped closer to her. He gave her the same grin. CJ, too, felt herself scoot away. It was funnier when he had been scaring Ted, but now CJ began to feel a little uncomfortable. The boy was staring at her, his gaze unwavering, like she was the only thing on the planet. It creeped her out.

Suddenly, a shout rang out, a name being called. The boy instinctevly turned to the noise and walked away.

Once the boy had gone, it was Ted's turn to chuckle. He shifted, sitting normally in his seat, no longer hanging on the edge to get away from a sticky child. "We certainly aren't going to be having kids any time soon."

CJ felt her eyes widen, the same time his did. He quickly met her gaze, holding his hands up. "Not that I meant with each other. I mean in general. I'm not sure kids like me, so I'm not ready, and it doesn't look like you are etiher." He blinked with a shake of his head. "Not that I know that you _aren't_. I mean, go ahead-"

CJ cut him off, worried that if he continued, the sparks within her would spread. She didn't want that. "No, you're right. I don't want a kid, at least not right now." He shut up, relieved to stop the awkward rant. "Besides, I think that kid was just…. Different. The way he looked at me." She shook her shoulders, mimicking the chills.

Ted nodded, turning to the table. "Yeah, he gave me the same look."

They sat in silence for a moment longer, before they mutually agreed that maybe going to go play the games would sound fun. CJ was just relieved the tension vanished once they were up and moving.

Ted was especially good at throwing the darts at the balloons. The first one he threw he missed, but the second erupted with a loud pop. CJ squealed with glee and flinched. Then he threw another, and grinned down at her reaction. "Don't tell me you've never tried this before." She hadn't.

After the game keeper collected a small, cute stuffed frog, Ted asked for three more darts. He handed one to CJ. Hers didn't even make it into the board of the wall. It bounced off and almost impaled a random nearby passing stranger. CJ let out another squeal when she thought it was going to hit someone.

Ted let out a chuckle. "How do you do it?" He shrugged. "Physics. Gravity. Speed and force of the throw. Velocity and time of impact." He grinned at the sudden bored and pouty expression on her face. "Say it's good luck."

After he succeeded in popping three more balloons, the game keeper insisted Ted exchange the frog for a bigger prize. He ended up getting a cute and chubby elephant.

_Caroline would have picked that one_, a voice told her in her head. _If she were here_. Guilt filled CJ. It had been so easy to forget that she had left her twin in a quarantine cell. She forced herself to think positively. Caroline would want her to have fun, wouldn't she? To _not_ worry about her.

The cute chubby elephant was suddenly in front of CJ. She looked up at Ted. He shook it slightly, handing it to her. He rose an eyebrow at her. "What am _I_ going to do with this?"

She took it, giving him a small glare. "Just because I'm a girl, I'm supposed to want it?"

His eyebrow lowered to its normal resting place, and he said in all seriousness, "Yes."

CJ shook her head with a small smile. "It _is_ cute."

He smiled in satisfaction then led them away towards the whack-a-moles.

* * *

The guilt was present the rest of the night, but spending it with Ted made her feel better. She felt like he knew she was down, and was trying to keep the mood happy and amusing. She knew he had not done it on purpose when he and another man collided, a slushi flying into the air. Fortunately, it missed both men, but Ted fell backwards onto the ground from the large, bulky man he had run into. For minutes afterward Ted was red faced and CJ couldn't stop giggling.

She allowed herself to relax again, because when she thought about it, he had gotten a distraction as well. He hadn't spoken about his work all night, and hadn't asked to leave. It didn't mean he wasn't thinking about it, but CJ didn't know. She hoped he hadn't. He looked like he was having fun, too.

Once it hit around ten, the two began to walk home. As they walked side by side, Ted stuffed his hands in his pockets, and CJ clutched the little gray stuffed toy to her abdomen. Their eyes were still lit with joy, but was quickly fading as the night was coming to an end.

Ted must have noticed this as well, because instead of taking a right to their street, Ted brought her left.

They ended up going to a park. CJ was surprised to see no one around. Maybe they were all at the fair.

They sat on the grass and leaned against the fountain and looked up at the night sky. The stars were visible here, where there were barely any lights. CJ let out a long sigh. The night was finally over. They had done it.

CJ thought she would ask him about the stars, what constellations they were, because Ted knew that kind of stuff, but when she looked over at him, he was looking down at his hands.

"Me and my mother use to do stuff like this, when I was younger. We went bowling every Sunday. Back then, I just couldn't throw the ball right, and I always got splits, then missed. My mom was a pro. She could get strikes every time, and I loved watching her. She didn't show off, but she didn't take it like it was nothing. She always told me practice makes perfect." He looked up at the night sky. "I miss her."

CJ looked away. "I'm sorry."

He shifted beside her. "She's not dead. She has Alzheimer's, and extreme dementia. She doesn't remember anything anymore." He paused, and CJ let it sink in. "In the beginning, when it first started, she told me not to visit her. She didn't want me to see a woman that didn't remember my face. I would be a stranger to her.

"I respected her wishes, but I _had_ to visit her. She's my mother." He looked down at his hands again. "She thought I was one of the nurses…."

He had revealed something about himself, something that made both of them want to cry. CJ didn't remember her parents, but she felt like she had to say something, to take the attention from him.

"I miss my sister." She knew the memories would bring the guilt back, but she felt like she needed to say it out loud, tell someone that she really did care for her twin. "When we were teenagers, we use to go to the zoo all the time. We probably went three times a week, and eventually, the ticket woman called us regulars and gave us half off. Some of the staff even learned us by name. And we would stay there all day, up until closing.

"But we weren't like those other tourists who snapped hundreds of pictures. We just watched the animals, and thought of plans of how to set them free. The plans always ended in outrageous schemes, and we would always laugh, and the other tourists would give us strange looks. One time, we sat at the chimpanzees, and we named all of them. We fought over which ones should be girls, because they looked smaller to her but bigger to me. Then we would try and point out all their names again, to see if we remembered them all. Then we found out that they already had names, and we would laugh at our naivetés.

"We always laughed." The last sentence was a whisper, but it was so loud in the silence. The fountain didn't drown it out, and Ted was just staring. She clutched at her heart, as if it might break. How could she be so cruel? She should be helping her sister control her powers, so she didn't hurt herself anymore. Even if she did freeze over again, CJ should be at her side when she woke up, to let her know that she was there for her. Why wasn't she there for her?

CJ stood, and Ted followed. "Let's go home," she said quietly, and he agreed.

But as they walked, the emotions didn't die down. They built up inside, and she felt tears prick her eyes. Guilt, regret, worry. These emotions sparked the fire within her, but she forced it down. She just needed to let it all go.

It was at the steps when she finally broke. The first tears fell, and the others poured out after it, as if they were waiting for one to go first before the fell. She stopped, mostly because she couldn't see anymore, and grabbed for Ted.

He held her as she let all her emotions out, but struggled to keep the fire in. It was a battle within her. How much of me can you let out? Oh, let me out so I can burn the place to the ground! No, we can't do that, we're mourning. We're not mourning you idiot, we hate ourselves. I don't wanna go. I like it in here. If you stay, you'll hurt her even more. She needs to relax, so get out. You get out. You first!

Of course, it didn't happen like that, but it could have. She wanted to be numb. It would be so much easier. And then she realized she was being carried. She must have been crying into him for too long, because they were slowly making their way up the steps. Then she began crying all over again because he was taking care of her like she did earlier that week. She was grateful that she didn't have to be alone.

Then they were in the apartment, and Ted was about to set her down on her bed. She was still crying, but it had died down a little.

She gripped his damp shirt. "Please. Stay."

And he stayed. He ended up leaning against the headboard while she was practically in his lap, and she continued to cry into his chest. He lightly played with her hair as he held her, and the soft motion of her hair moving with the sweet smell of his unknown scent guided her into sleep.

* * *

_If you didn't know: Well, this chapter took me two days to write, mostly because I was trying to think of fun things to do but settled with the basics. I also tried to add in a lot of guilt about Caroline, but it was hard for me to fit in. There was also a lot less thoughts and feelings._

_Also, CJ breaking down at the end was inevitable. It had to happen again sometime._

_And, that's it._


	7. Introduction

**Only needed a tiny help from Onyx. Thanks anyways, Twin!**

**Chapter 7**

She woke up to Ted shaking her. "CJ, your ear is flashing."

That made her jump off him and the bed. How hadn't she heard the league talking in her ear? "Go for Firebug."

"_There is nothing new with you sister's condition_," Batman started through the comm. "_Any time she feels angry, scared, or confused, her abilities get out of control. When she is happy she's fine. We are keeping her in quarantine. Diana has been explaining the situation to her, as much as she can, and keeping her calm. I wanted to let you know that I am bringing in Ice. Hopefully, she will help your sister control her abilities. If not_…." He trailed off, thinking whatever it was was obvious. CJ didn't really know what he meant, but she didn't press him.

CJ nodded to herself. "Alright. Thanks for the update." She pulled the comm from her ear, because having it in for twenty-four hours straight made it sore. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Ted sitting on her bed, his legs over the side, forearms on his knees, head bowed. She had forgotten that she had spent the night on top of him.

As she stared down at him, she decided that she wanted to tell him why she had been so upset last night. But she wasn't ready. "Did you want something to eat?"

He looked up at her, small surprise on his face. CJ thought maybe it was because he didn't know she had ended the short conversation on her comm. After they talked she would go visit Caroline. She would find a way to talk to her without causing her to instantly freeze.

Ted stood. "Sure."

CJ gave him a small smile and the two went to the kitchen, both still in their clothes from last night. CJ was going to make eggs, because it was the easiest thing for her to make. But it turned out, Ted knew how to cook. Breakfast, at least.

As he worked, he began to talk about nothing in particular. He started rambling on about why he wore the clothes he did. CJ had to admit it was strange, yet interesting. "Mostly because of my line of work; I have to look smart and calculated to get donations to sell my work. Cotton can sometimes get itchy, in my opinion. I don't wear a suit jacket because most of the time, I get sweaty while at the conventions I go to. With just a plain shirt, I can keep the sleeves down if I'm cold, and roll them up if I get hot."

CJ felt her mouth fall open. She felt exactly the same way.

He spoke more about it, why he had his job. He reminded her about mutations, how he was fascinated by them. It made CJ think about her own mutation that allowed her to come to this world. Ted talked, and CJ listened, and before they knew it, breakfast was ready.

He added seasoning and cheese to the scrambled eggs, but some hamburger buns in the toaster, made sausage patties with a hint of honey, and strips of bacon. She sat on a stool on the other side of the island, to give him space as he worked. In the end, they had little sandwiches, and CJ almost died from the deliciousness of it. Ted stood, a towel across his shoulder, as he ate his.

Right before he could really get into his food, he said, "Thank you." He paused, where CJ rose her eyebrows in question. He had made the food, not her. "For last night. I really needed to get out." _Oh_. Before she could answer, he smiled at her. "I had fun. More than I thought I would."

CJ took a bite, contemplating what he had said. He had had fun. With her. Out of the apartment. Maybe they should do it more often. Knowing that she was the cause of his short happiness made CJ's stomach flip in joy and anxiety. She loved that he enjoyed her company, but…. She shook her head at where her thoughts were leading. She didn't need to think about them. She should just be glad that he had had a great time.

Then, when they finished, she began to explain why she took him to the fair; for him, but also for her. CJ told him about her sister, how she came through a portal just like she did. She told him that Caroline had abilities, too, but the opposite of her, that hers weren't as easily controlled as CJ's were. Then she told him why she had been upset, because she shouldn't see Caroline or her ability would get out of control and she'd be scared again. She hated having to leave her sister, and wanted to break down again, but held it together.

As he listened, Ted washed the few pans he used and their dishes. She knew he listened, and she was glad he did something other than stare at her as she spoke. When she finished, he leaned against the counter, his arms on it, bending down. She watched his face, then waited for him to say what he was struggling to say. She saw the way he stared down at the counter. Watched his brow twitch. "Can I-" He shook his head, like he wasn't going to ask, but then thought he should since he already started. "Would it be okay if I took a blood sample?"

CJ saw that it had been difficult for him to ask. This was her twin sister they were talking about, and since Ted was friends with CJ, so it might be a little awkward because he got a blood sample from Caroline like he did CJ weeks ago. This sounded really funny to her for some reason. She was grinning when she answered. "It's not really me you should be asking." She laughed again.

* * *

Her and Ted teleported up to the WatchTower once they had taken showers and got into fresh clothes. CJ wore her Firebug uniform, and Ted wore his usual button up shirt and slacks.

CJ had asked ahead of time if she could bring Ted up, so Wonder Woman was ready for them when they beamed up.

She smiled at Ted. "Nice to see you again, ."

"You too, Diana. Thank you for having me."

With some silent appreciation, the three fell into step together as they headed towards the quarantine room.

CJ looked up at the Amazon. "Thank you for looking out for her."

Diana smiled down at her. "Of course, CJ. Anything for a friend." She let out a small laugh. "It's quite odd, actually. She is going through a similar process you went through."

Similar process? "Like what?" Was Batman doing that stupid exercise where he pricked her with his invisible zapping things?

"Black Canary has given her clothes that change temperatures with her. If she grows just slightly colder, so do her clothes. This makes it so she does not feel the difference and get frightened."

CJ smiled, hearing that Black Canary was helping her sister like she helped CJ. She was glad most of the Justice League were nice people. At least her twin would be surrounded by safety.

Wonder Woman stopped them at a room that wasn't in the med bay. CJ looked up at the door, then her. "Where are we?"

"As we said before, it is safer for your sister if you don't see her in person. Here, you'll be able to watch without her seeing you. You won't be able to speak to her, just observe."

She opened the door to reveal a dark room lit by many screens. CJ took one last glance at Ted before she slowly crept in. The door shut behind her, leaving her in the dark room.

A man was standing at one of the monitors, and on the other end of the room there was a man in a swivel chair, typing away at a keyboard, glancing at the monitors every few seconds. The screens switched every few seconds. Standing by this man was a woman, and at first glance CJ immediately registered her as Hawkgirl. This was obvious with the wings that were seen on her back. She glanced at CJ when she walked in, then turned back to the man and spoke to him quietly.

On the other wall, where the man was standing, the screens didn't switch. They stayed on the same picture. As CJ looked, she noticed most of them were of the WatchTower, the outside, the bigger rooms like the cafeteria, and the smaller rooms down hallways that no one really went to. Was this another monitor room, only for the WatchTower? A security room?

Then she noticed who the man was. It was the Martian Manhunter. He had watched CJ walk in, and waited patiently for her approach him. "Please, call me J'onn. Or John. Whichever is easier for you to pronounce."

"Hi, J'onn." She had never actually met the man, and so introductions were expected, but it was odd nevertheless. She looked at the screen he had been looking at. It was of the quarantine room, the one she first had that was now occupied by her sister. So that was how they knew she was talking to them all those weeks ago. She had just spoken to no one in particular and then someone would appear on the other side of the glass. It was a little creepy, knowing they had been watching her, but hopefully they didn't watch her twenty-four-seven. That would be really creepy.

But now she knew why she was here. She could watch Ted and her sister, and keep Caroline safe at the same time. But why was J'onn here? Did she need supervision, or was he here to just make sure she knew what was happening.

J'onn turned to look at the screen with her. "You are aware that I have a…. _weakness_, for fire, which is why I-"

CJ held up her hand, which effectively stopped him. She gave him a small smile. "I understand." She gave a small laugh at his awkwardness. Or was it nervousness? "I can assure you, I will not harm you. I have control."

He nodded, then they both turned back to the screen.

Just then, Ted walked in with the very same cart of equipment he had when CJ had been a resident in the room. This time, with Caroline, he actually went into the glass room, where CJ had come out. Suddenly, she was worried, for both Ted and her sister. If Ted did anything to upset her, Caroline could freeze up. Ted could get caught in the cross fire. The two people she cared for most could get harmed.

CJ couldn't do anything but watch.

The doors closed behind Ted, which finally caught Caroline's attention. She must have been sleeping or pre-occupied to not hear him enter.

Ted left the equipment and smiled at her. "Good afternoon. I'm Dr. Wallace, I'm here to take a blood sample."

Caroline stood, and CJ could see her new outfit. She had a white jacket, white boots, just like CJ's, and cobalt blue tank top and jeans. CJ rolled her eyes. Black Canary gave her the same outfit but with different colors. And a tank top instead of a bra. Of course.

"Wait, you're Todd."

Ted blinked at Caroline, confused, but CJ, who was not in the room to explain, placed her hand on her forehead. She had forgotten that she had told her sister about him. With the letter she sent her twin when she became a member of the Justice League, she sent a postcard of Ted, Diana, Black Canary, Superman and Flash, telling her that these were CJ's friends.

Caroline continued, still surprised. "You know my sister."

Ted turned to the table and poked around. "Yes, I do."

"Is she alright here? She's not dying, is she?"

Ted let out a small laugh, and since he was angled toward the camera, CJ could see that he was smiling. "No, she's fine. Honestly, I can see that she enjoys it here. She's happy." He paused. "She helps people, even if she knows she's going to get hurt from it. It's what she loves."

CJ smiled, though she didn't understand the look on his face.

CJ saw Caroline smile, too. "Do you care for her?"

Ted dropped something onto the cart, and a clanging erupted as the object settled onto the metal. The smile was no longer on his face, and he suddenly looked shocked for a moment. He turned around to her and cleared his throat before talking. "Could you take a seat, please?"

She did, and he approached, wrapped the rubber around her upper arm, and found a vein. Then he stuck her with a needle- here, Caroline's face pinched up in discomfort- and got himself a blood sample. Once there was enough blood in the vial, he held it up to the light, then he asked Caroline to hold it as he fixed up her arm. Seeing this, CJ remembered that he had done the exact same thing with CJ. It must be odd for him to be doing this, with someone that looks exactly like CJ, who isn't CJ.

CJ blinked, her heart beat picking up, feeling sudden pricking in her fingertips, making her fists clench. There was also a burning sensation in her stomach. She suddenly wanted to set something on fire, but she didn't understand why. Realizing that Ted was in there with Caroline, and not her, had produced these feelings.

She shook her head to clear it, and rolled her shoulders. Beside her, J'onn looked down at her. "Are you alright?"

CJ unclenched her hands. "Yeah, I just…. I don't know." She swore she saw his lips twitch, but it was only for a moment, and it could have been her imagination. She turned back to the screen trying to push away her emotions. She really hated them sometimes.

Ted had went back to the cart with the vial, but turned curiously back to Caroline. "Are you alright?"

It was then that CJ heard her twin breathing more heavily. She was still sitting on the bed, but she was shaking her hands, like maybe she wanted her nail polish to dry or was waving away a bunch of flies.

CJ bolted out of the room, knowing what was happening. She vaguely heard J'onn follow her with a warning, but she didn't listen to him. She took a chance and went right, and ran. Her sister needed her. She was in danger. Ted was in danger. They both were.

As she turned a corner, she almost slammed into another person. She didn't take time to look to see who it was before she hurried out a reply and continued to run.

She let out a sigh of relief when she recognized the hall. Seconds later, she was in the quarantine room. Fortunately, Diana was still there. "CJ, you're-"

"I need you to let me in there," she told the Amazon. Ted and Caroline both looked over at her. She was breathing more heavily, but so was Caroline. Diana didn't budge. "If you don't let me in there, she's going to freak out and she could hurt Ted. I won't have either of those."

Diana stared at her one more moment before she nodded, and opened the glass.

CJ tried to give her a smile but rushed in. She turned to Ted first. "Ted, you have to trust me. Get out."

He glanced at Caroline, took in her panic, then stared at CJ, his eyebrows lowering slightly. "CJ, your cryophobia."

She had no idea what that meant, but she didn't care. Her sister was getting worse. She didn't look like she knew that she was in a room anymore with other people. She took a step closer to him, making sure he heard her words. "I can not only create heat, but take it away. I'll take hers away, so she'll feel more comfortable."

He shook his head once. "No, that won't make a difference. She'll still turn to ice, you'll just help her do it quicker than she can on her own."

"But if I can take it from her, won't she feel cold? Doesn't she want to feel cold?"

"Cynth, what are you talking about?"

CJ turned to her twin, who was looking at her with wide eyes. "Care, calm down. You're fine. So what if it's a little hot?"

Her sister shook her head. "No, it's not like that. It's worse."

"CJ, Ted, you need to get out of there. She'll take all the hot air out of the room and you'll die of extreme hypothermia." This was from Wonder Woman.

CJ already felt the air begin to grow cold. She turned and looked at Ted, pleading. "I can do this. I know it."

Their gazes met, and she saw that he understood. She also saw that he hated to leave her alone in the room, especially if it was possible that CJ could get harmed by her twin.

The door closed behind him, but he was still there, CJ could see him through the glass.

CJ turned to Caroline and took a step closer to her, but then felt the cool of the air. It bit at her, warning her to stay away.

CJ began to absorb the heat, and she kept absorbing it until she was the only warm thing in the room. It only took a few seconds. Caroline looked like she was better, but not completely fine. CJ didn't know how low the temperature needed to be. 32 degrees Fahrenheit was freezing temperature, wasn't it?

As the temperature around her- and Caroline- decreased, CJ grew hotter. If she kept this up, she would grow hot enough to catch on fire. What would that do to the air?

Caroline was becoming calm again. She blinked and her eyes focused, as if she was coming out of a daze. Now was the time for CJ to get her to calm down.

"Care, I need you to listen to me. You know you have powers, right?"

Caroline frowned at her. "Powers? What are you talking about?" She blinked and looked her up and down. "Are you okay? You don't look right."

"I'm concentrating," CJ barked out. She shook her head. "Sorry. When you get like this, when you start to get hot, you make yourself get cold. It's why you go unconscious, because you become ice; you freeze yourself. If I can control it, then so can you."

"What? I don't understand. This happens to you, too?"

CJ shook her head. "Not exactly. Haven't you spoken to Ice yet?"

Caroline glared. "CJ, would you stop talking about ice for a minute? I wanna know what happened to you, why you left me. Can't you just tell me that?"

CJ had continued to absorb the air and turn it to her heat, and it continued to build up inside her. "You wanna know what happened to me? This!" Then she let herself catch fire. But as she did that, she continued to keep the air around them the same temperature.

"I didn't come back because I can control fire, and now you can control ice. I help people here, and if I went back there, to you, I wouldn't be able to. I'm nothing there."

Caroline didn't seem at all surprised that her twin sister had just caught fire. She was too angry. "Are you serious? You stayed here to keep your powers? How _selfish_ are you?"

CJ's composure faltered, and she forgot for a moment what she was doing. Selfish? CJ wasn't selfish, was she?

Caroline continued to get angry and yell. Frost was beginning to form on her half of the room, but she seemed to be in control of her powers for a moment. "Just because you're only my twin sister _there_ means you had to stay _here_? You think that saved the world? Do you know how miserable I was? Keith doesn't want to get married anymore, because he thinks I belong in an _insane asylum_. I cried every night, because you had left without saying goodbye to me. You left me, and for _this_?"

CJ began to grow angry herself. "I didn't do this on purpose! Some crazy lunatic decided to mess with my genes and send me through a portal! He _forced_ these powers onto me! I wanted to go back to you every day! But then I started helping people. I saved their lives. I saved New York!"

"Well, there's one person you didn't save when you came here: _Me_! You ruined me! Now I'm _this_!"

* * *

_If you didn't know: Caroline kind of understands what's happening, but not completely. And now she is seriously pissed and blames her powers on CJ. Go figure._

_Sorry about the cliff hanger; I felt like the chapter was getting too long with too much going on. I also didn't know how to end it._

_See you next chapter!_


	8. Arkham

**It's more like a cut to a commercial, if this were a TV show. Now we have the next scene! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8**

After Caroline froze into her ice form, CJ marched out of the quarantine room to find Batman in the hall. She was glaring, still angry and hurt by what her sister had told her. When she saw Batman, she knew what she wanted. She wanted to know how Caroline came to this world. She wanted to know how, and there was only one man on this planet that could have done it.

Ted appeared by her side. He gently touched her shoulder. "Are you…?"

"Fine?" She looked up at him. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She closed her eyes for a brief moment, then met his worried gaze again. "Will you come with me?"

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Where?"

CJ turned to Batman. "We're going to Arkham."

* * *

"Arkham Asylum is filled with super villains, mostly the psychotic ones." Batman was filling them in as they flew to Gotham City. He wanted to make sure that they knew what they were getting into. "You may know of the Joker. He is the most intelligent super villain in the building. He will try to manipulate you any way he can. Along with the other villains. Try not to listen to them or play their games."

He pulled up a file from his little screen next to his controls. "Dr. Raphael Norman was locked up in Arkham after the battle in New York. His file says that he is the least harmful patient, mostly due to the fact that his powers cannot breach his cell."

The Batplane was a little crowded with all three seats filled, but the small space was relaxing to CJ. She assumed Batman didn't enjoy teleporting all the time. She looked over at Ted, who was fidgeting nervously in his seat. He would be able to examine the blood sample later, which was probably causing the fidgeting, but CJ saw something else. He looked a little scared.

Once Batman was done talking, she reached out a gently touched his arm. "What's wrong?"

As if waiting for his chance to speak, he burst, talking rather quickly. "I don't like this. We're going to Arkham Asylum, where some of the nastiest criminals are harbored. We're going to visit the man that took over your body and almost took over New York. Aren't you a little worried?" He finally met her curious gaze, his blue eyes churning with worry.

CJ blinked. She hadn't really thought of it like that. She was going to Arkham to ask the man how he made a portal, because they had destroyed all devices that could, and he has been locked up on an island. How had he done it? "I guess I'm a little worried. Caroline came through that portal because of him. I'm here to find out how, and why."

He nodded. "I understand that. But don't you think this man might, I don't know, taunt you, or bring up old memories?"

CJ visibly cringed. She had had a few nightmares the nights that followed his possession and her acceptance into the League. She didn't want to think about them.

"Sorry." He looked away, down at the floor of the plane. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Her eyebrows scrunched up instinctively. "How-" She felt the gentle landing of the plane, telling her that they had landed. Batman didn't wait for anything, and immediately opened the door and hopped out. CJ and Ted quickly followed him.

Somehow, the island looked darker than the rest of the world, like it had its' own bubble of weather and insisted it stay dark and gloomy. The trees even looked angry and deadly. This place was scary. There was nothing else to call it.

Batman moved swiftly in the dark, and CJ thought they would almost lose him, but there was only one place he would go, and that was up the stairs to the large, abandoned-looking building.

CJ felt numb as they walked through security. She barely registered that Batman glared at most that asked for him to surrender his weapons. They were probably use to letting the one man go in with weapons. She didn't know if they asked for I.D.s or anything. She just wanted to get this over with.

They were escorted by two guards, and after walking down a few corridors and hearing some creepy giggling and screams, finally got to their destination.

The cell was probably eight square feet, with just enough room for a simple cot, table, one chair, and a toilet. The one wall of the cell was made of glass, and was really thick. Inside was an older man, with dark brown hair with graying sides. He looked like any other man, except was in all white. He looked up when he heard the footsteps stop at his cell, and CJ fought back a gasp. This was the man that had taken over her body, and had enjoyed using her fire to attack others. She hated him, and felt her face reflect her feelings.

He stood, and his voice was an octave higher than suited his face. "Ah, so Mr. Bat has finally listened to the Doctor." His eyes focused on CJ. "Hello, my little traitor. Come to beg for forgiveness?"

She had no idea why he said these things, and decided to ignore him. CJ didn't answer, and Ted tensed beside her. She looked up to see that he was glaring with complete hatred at the man behind the glass. Norman looked at Ted. "Who do we have here? A friend? A _close_ friend?"

He clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze turning back to and not wavering from CJ. "I told Mr. Bat I'd only talk to you. Of course, now that you're here, I don't really want to. Why did you not give thanks to your master? I gave you your power, everything that you are now. I saved you."

CJ clenched her fists together. "I didn't ask for you to send me through that portal. I don't know how you found me, and don't act like you know me. I was just a guinea pig in whatever you did."

He grinned. "I see. I was going to make this world a paradise, for all like us. But now I see that I am a god. No one will believe in me until I can prove to them that I can commit." He sighed, as if he felt better about himself, something that had been bugging him now gone. "Do not worry; Utopia will come one day, and when it does, I will let you in, with kindness. You did not know I was real, and I can accept that."

CJ's glare deepened. The man was crazy. She was glad Batman was not interfering; this was CJ's fight. She ignored whatever Norman said and asked her question. "How did you make the portal that brought my twin through?"

He sighed again. "I will answer your questions, but in the future I expect you to answer mine, when the time comes. Now, tell me what portal you speak of."

She took in a deep breath. "The one you created two days ago."

He frowned. "Two days ago? I have no access to my lab, therefore did not make such a portal." He paused, thoughts rattling inside his insane mind. "Interesting. I remember having twins on my list, but never both of the same pair. Only one of them had the gene, never both."

Ted shifted next to her, and she glanced at him to see what he was doing. He had turned completely around, so he was facing the cell across from the one Norman occupied. CJ turned with him. "Ted?"

He glanced at her, then to the floor. "If what he says is true, then I know how your sister came through that portal."

Batman suddenly appeared beside them. "She doesn't have the gene, but her DNA is almost identical."

CJ didn't know what they were talking about, but she let them do whatever. They were the smart ones. She glanced back at Dr. Norman and almost fell over in surprise, but definitely jumped. The man could no longer be seen, the whole cell devoid of light but the glowing whites of the mans' eyes. He had turned the room into a shadow. He was literally a shadow. She understood why he was the least harmful, because his shadow couldn't penetrate the glass and therefore he couldn't possess other people.

Chills of the memory of him taking over her body surfaced, but she quickly turned her back to the cell and studied Ted's face.

Ted nodded. "Exactly. The traces of the portal must have picked up on Caroline's DNA. Is it even possible for the same portal to open up because it sensed her DNA?"

"I've already thought of this and have done a little research on it."

Ted looked up at him. "So, will you need my help?"

CJ swore his glare deepened, or maybe he lifted his eyebrows underneath the cowl. His face barely changed, though. "Only if you think it will be faster."

Ted glanced at CJ again. "I think you'll be fast enough on your own."

Batman looked at him for another moment before he nodded and headed off. CJ caught him glance at her again before the two of them followed, without another glance at Norman or the other prisoners.

Once they were outside, CJ felt like she could finally breathe. She stopped once they reached the bottom of the steps, stopping Ted, but Batman continued on to his plane. "So, you're helping him?"

The plane started up, but Ted made no move to catch up with him. "Honestly, he's way smarter than me. He doesn't need it."

The door to the plane closed, and the plane slowly lifted from the ground.

CJ smiled at the disappearing plane. He would get back to CJ when he found something. He wasn't cruel enough _not_ to. At least CJ hoped he wasn't. She wouldn't know anything until he came up with something, so she might as well relax until she could actually help her sister.

But what was she going to do?

* * *

When they were teleported to their apartment, Ted didn't go back to his work, and they stood awkwardly in the living room for a moment.

"You kno-"

"I was go-"

They had both started saying something at the time, then cut themselves off. It was almost funny. _Almost_.

Ted rubbed the back of his head, while CJ rubbed her shoe against a small stain on the floor. For some reason, the looks they were giving off made the other uncomfortable.

CJ took in a deep breath. "I was going to let you know that I really appreciate what you've done for me." There, she'd said it.

Ted looked at her, puzzled. "Like what?"

She shrugged, looking away. "I don't know, just being my friend. Letting me stay here, not getting all weird over me having powers- I feel like that could have happened. You came with me to Arkham, you listened to me babble on about my sister." She inwardly cringed. Did she just say babble? Out loud?

His gaze saddened as she spoke, especially when she had said friend. When he replied, he sounded off. Depressed. "What are friends for?" he asked sarcastically.

CJ frowned. She didn't understand.

He rubbed his face, as if he was stressed. Then the next thing she knew, he was right in front of her, and their lips were pressed together.

* * *

_If you didn't know: I'm not really favoring Batman, not on purpose anyways, Arkham is just a reasonable place to keep a crazy doctor man. Try not to ask me where the other people from the portals are, because I have no idea. They dispersed after the battle and are hiding or something. _

_And, you know what, I just really wanted this to happen, so there. He kissed her. Cliffhanger engaged._


	9. Anniversary

**Thanks to everyone who's reading the story, and thanks to Through the Storm; it means a lot. Soon is where I had my writer's block, so the future chapters may be rushed and not-so-descriptive. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9**

CJ didn't have any time to react, because literally a second after he kissed her, he stepped back.

CJ's mouth hung open and she was frozen in shock. She didn't know what to do. Her limbs were tingling with warmth, but not because she was fire. No thoughts could enter her mind besides _He just kissed_ me!

He kept his eyes closed as he let out a sigh of defeat. "I'm sorry, I've just been waiting to do that for a long time."

CJ absorbed what he said, and could only think, _What? He had?_

Ted opened his eyes, and gave her a strange look. It wasn't worry… but fear? Then it got really awkward as he started to talk. "I-I don't really know what's so different about you, except that you're not like them. I can talk to you- _really_ talk to you. With them, I'm closed off."

She didn't know who _they_ were, but he kept talking in his rushed state. As he did, he glanced from her, to the floor, to the wall, to her, to his hands, to the floor, and back to her. Really quickly. "Anyone I meet, I don't really want to talk to. My co-workers and I only talk about our work. When they ask about my personal life, I avoid the questions. And I'm glad I don't like to talk to them.

"All I know is that you're different. I _want_ to talk to you, all the time. And with you, I can talk about anything and feel comfortable. I want to be around you all the time, because I feel better with you around. Always have."

CJ took in what he said, and sifted through it all as he stared at her pleadingly. As she did, she did her best to control her fire. Hearing his words sent warm chills throughout her, clenching her stomach in the good kind of pain. But then again, she _heard_ his words. Was he _serious_? "That's because I'm not a scientist," CJ said, and his mouth fell open slightly in shock and confusion. "You said I'm easier to talk to, and that's because I'm not like the people that you would usually talk to. If you go out on the street right now, it's a guarantee that they'll be just as interesting as me. I-I'm not special, not really."

They stared at each other another moment, CJ in slight anger and sadness, and Ted in complete shock, disbelief, and his own anger.

Before either of them could speak more, a sharp knock was heard only ten feet from them, and they both turned to the noise. Someone had just knocked on their door.

CJ almost rolled her eyes in distress. Just before both moved towards the door to discover who it was, CJ had enough time to think something around the lines of, _Of course, when we desperately need to say something to the other, we get interrupted. Always._

CJ allowed Ted to go first, even if she had been closer, because this was technically his place. CJ was just staying here until she could get her own place, till she could get a job. Right?

Ted opened the door curiously, revealing an elderly woman on the other side.

"Theodore," the woman said, happy to see him.

He opened the door wider and relaxed. He proceeded to ask her what she needed, but had completely forgotten about CJ, and she didn't stand around to listen. She needed to think, without Ted being there. What he said, CJ didn't understand. She was scared to be around him, because she thought she would prove him wrong again, tell him that what he believed was a lie. She wanted to keep him safe, and being with her would be a danger.

Fortunately, it only took a minute to disappear into her room, contact the WatchTower, and get teleported up to the space station.

* * *

She was in the lounge room once again, but this time she was sitting at one of the tables. She laid her hands on the table, her chin resting on her hands. She was trying to figure out her feelings. She felt guilt rip at her, for Caroline and Ted. She had left Caroline to deal with her powers alone, no matter how much Caroline hated her, and had told Ted that what he knew was wrong.

She hated herself at that moment, but at the same time, she was scared. She didn't want to lose them, but at this rate, she was going to. She didn't know how to talk, to express her feelings. It was what most humans wanted, which was probably why CJ wouldn't be able to find happiness. The people that would make her happy were going to hate her.

Her fear must have shown- she was probably fidgeting, her eyes wide and unfocused, because she was no longer leaning on the table- because soon enough she had company.

She saw a flash of a red blur before a man suddenly appeared close to CJ. He sat across from her, relaxing into his chair.

CJ was only a little surprised, tensing for a brief moment, before she let out a sigh.

The Flash gave her a small smile. "You look worried."

CJ didn't know she was rubbing her face until she was. She forced her hand back into her lap and looked up at him, at his red mask and the little flaps of yellow on the side of his head. His blue eyes were kind and compassionate. She turned away.

He sighed, then out of the blue asked, "Do you know how I got my powers?"

CJ furrowed her brows, not knowing why he would ask that. Of course she didn't know, she barely knew the guy. She told him all this with one look, and he continued.

"I was in my lab one night, doing the usual paperwork. The weather that morning said it there would be possible thunderclouds, but it was unlikely as I went through the day. Then, without warning, I was struck by lightning."

CJ gasped softly, and he continued. "As the lightning struck me, it also struck the chemicals on the shelves around me. It was a complete coincidence, but once I recovered, I had my newfound powers. My body, my thoughts, my metabolism- everything was faster. _I_ was faster." By the time he was finished, he had looked away, cringing slightly at his own story.

CJ shook her head. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because when that lightning struck, I was not only in so much pain, but I was scared. I thought I was going to die." He paused, finding her gaze once again. "But I woke up, and became the Flash. From then on, I encountered so much. All the super villains, the near death and life changing experiences. All because I was struck by lightning in my lab. Everything I am now is because of that. I've met my friends, and my Iris." He smiled, thoughts of whoever his friends or Iris were. "Everyone I care for, everything that I care _about_, all because of that night. I guess I'm telling you this because sometimes good things _can_ come from frightening situations."

This oddly reminded CJ of the time Raven had told her how difficult to have powers, when CJ had almost burnt down New York. He was trying to make her feel better, just like Raven had been, and CJ was grateful. She gave him a smile. "Thank you. I think I understand what you're saying."

"Good," he said, standing. "Now, let's go to a party."

CJ stood too, confused. He wanted to bring her to a party? Why?

He grinned, gesturing for her to follow. She did, curious. As they walked down the halls, Flash explained. "Every year, the public celebrates the anniversary of the formation of the Justice League."

CJ frowned. "I didn't know the Justice League was such a big deal to them."

"Oh, it is. Every kid wants to grow up to be a superhero, and the adults either want to date us or they envy us. We're like celebrities." He waved his hand dismissively. "Anyways, since the public is so fond of us, they hold parades and such honoring the Justice League. The Anniversary is next week." He paused with a mischievous grin. "Or so they think."

He stopped their walk, and turned to a door. They stepped through. Inside, CJ didn't believe her eyes. "We celebrate the anniversary today."

* * *

It wasn't really a party; there were no balloons or party hats, but there was a ton of food, and almost every League member was in the room. It took a second for CJ to realize that this was one of the biggest rooms in the WatchTower, the one with one wall entirely window, looking out at Earth. CJ had been in the room before, alone, and it was so much different. It was loud, but not loud enough to give you a headache. Everyone was talking, having a conversation; there was no yelling. CJ thought it was perfect.

Flash led her through the crowd, and as she followed him, CJ deliberately said the members' names in her head. She was proud to say she knew of most people in here. There was Captain Atom, Hourman, and Jesse Quick. Power Girl, Supergirl, Black Canary, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl. Green Arrow, Vixen, Black Lightning. Vigilante and Shining Knight. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. Captain Marvel, Blue Devil, Animal Man. Hawk and Dove, Fire and Ice, Hawkman and Atom. Even Aquaman was here.

Flash led CJ over to Green Lantern and Red Arrow, who were also standing with Superman and Cyborg. Then CJ was handed a beer, from a cooler that took her a while to see. She was too caught up in all the people here. They were all happy, enjoying the "party." She held the beer, noticed that others around her were also holding some. As she stared down at it, she realized what it meant. They respected her enough to invite her, or at least Flash did. She didn't see anyone glaring at her, or angry that she was here. She was a member of the Justice League.

Then Superman cleared his throat, and stepped away, calling for everyone's attentions. Within ten seconds he was standing alone by the windows, the room had gone silent, and everyone was staring at him. His speech was short but heartfelt. "Our travels have been on long roads, but I'm proud to say that the roads have all met up, or come parallel to one another. We all know that we've had our struggles." At this, CJ, along with many others, looked down at her beer, remembering the struggles he had brought to mind. "But we work through them, not only for ourselves, but to protect the people we care about. I'm proud to call all of you family." He held up his beer. "To family."

Most everyone at the exact same time mimicked him. "To family." Then they all took a swig of beer.

After only a few sips, some people left, and though CJ didn't notice this, she was one of those people. They must have been thinking along the same lines as CJ.

She realized that yes, these people could be considered her family, but she had a real family. A first family. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she had Ted. Guilt swarmed through her, knowing she had ditched him many times because she didn't want to admit her feelings for him. But Superman's speech had opened her eyes. She needed to talk to Ted.

* * *

_If you didn't know: I'm not even really sure if anyone celebrates the anniversary, but they do now!_


End file.
